Supervisors send SFMTA $147M Central Subway program management contract to board after amendments

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee voted Dec. 16 to forward a resolution approving the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s proposed program management and construction management services contract for the Central Subway to the full Board, adopting staff amendments and budget analyst recommendations intended to limit fiscal exposure.

Judson True, SFMTA program lead, told the committee the contract with Central Subway Partnership (a joint venture of AECOM USA Inc. and EPC Consultants) is the first significant construction-phase agreement for the project and carries a not-to-exceed value of roughly $147,375,171 for an initial five-year term with an option to extend for five more years. True described the work as ranging from program management and funding-plan support to environmental mitigation, right-of-way assistance and construction management.

Supervisors pressed SFMTA on two central concerns: why the RFP estimate of about $82 million became a negotiated contract of roughly $147 million, and how the agency will manage the project while a large share of construction funding remains uncommitted. True acknowledged the RFP underestimated the range of services required and said both bidders returned similar ranges; he said the contractor will help refine scope and support preparation of a full funding grant agreement with the Federal Transit Administration, expected in the next one to two years. He added that “if the funding is not there, the project will not happen.”

Budget staff and Supervisor Rose urged the board to break the single umbrella cap into separate NTE limits tied to phases so the agency could not spend the entire authorization on phase 1. The committee adopted an approach recommended by staff that requires the contract to include three separate NTE amounts (roughly $85.1M for phase 1, $51.7M for phase 2, and $10.5M for phase 1 options in the budget analyst’s illustration) and annual updates to the Board on notice-to-proceed dates, budget and scope.

Labor and community speakers backed the item during public comment, saying the project would create jobs and improve transit access for elderly and disabled residents in neighborhoods like Bayview, Mission Bay and Chinatown. The committee adopted technical amendments SFMTA requested, the budget analyst’s reporting and phase-segregation recommendations, and moved the resolution to the Jan. 6 Board meeting as amended.

Next steps: the full Board will consider the amended resolution on Jan. 6; SFMTA will provide annual updates on NTP dates, budgets and task orders and will present contract language splitting NTE amounts as directed by the committee.