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Construction authority outlines cost spike, pivots to CMAR for Gold Line extension to Montclair
Summary
The Gold Line Construction Authority told the Montclair City Council the Pomona–Montclair segment faces higher-than-expected bids and will move to a CMAR contracting method to reduce risk and restart competition; the authority expects a contractor-guaranteed price by June 2027 and completion of the final segment by 2031.
Habib Balan, introduced to the Montclair City Council by the mayor as the authority’s representative, told the council the Gold Line light-rail project is a roughly $4 billion investment that will ultimately extend service to Montclair.
Balan said the authority’s internal independent cost estimate (ICE) for the remaining Los Angeles- and San Bernardino–area work was about $645 million, but a solicitation produced a single, sole-source bid that came in “significantly higher” — more than $1 billion. “To deal with this and understand why the bid came in so high, we decided to pivot to a different contracting method known as CMAR,” he said, referring to construction manager at risk.
The authority said CMAR will allow the owner and designer to bring a contractor into the process during design so the contractor can price work as design reaches roughly 30 percent completion. Balan said the approach should reduce risk and broaden competition; the authority expects to select a CMAR contractor, gather pricing information through design, and receive a guaranteed price in June 2027. He estimated the change could add about 10–12 months to the schedule but argued it is necessary to keep the project within budget.
The presentation broke down funding for the final Pomona–Montclair segment: the authority said LA County has $798 million committed to its portion and San Bernardino County has about $80 million in state and local funding aimed at closing a funding gap. Balan also said the Glendora–Pomona phase is complete and in pre-revenue operations, while the final Pomona–Montclair segment is slated for completion in 2031.
Mayor Dutre and council members thanked the authority and discussed next steps. Dutre said he is pursuing an interagency memorandum of understanding and will raise the procurement approach with SBCTA and Metro in coming meetings. Councilmember Rue described frequent personal use of the Gold Line and said extending service to Montclair would provide long-term commuting benefits for local residents.
The authority plans to continue design work under CMAR, share cost updates with San Bernardino partners and discuss funding allocation and procurement at SBCTA meetings in May and June. The council did not take formal action at the meeting; the presentation concluded with the authority open to questions and follow-up briefings.
