By rosebell
Altough by approach of major construction there is an increasing the risk of cost overruns and schedule delays, Amtrak has not completed all necessary planning for the Frederick Douglass Tunnel (FDT), as an Amtrak Office of Inspector General (OIG) report has found.
Being famouse as the B&P Tunnel Replacement Program, the FDT program is due to modernise and transform a 6.4km section of the Northeast Corridor in Baltimore, whereas it includes the construction of two high-capacity tubes for electrified passenger trains, new road and railroad bridges, new rail systems and track, as well as a new station at West Baltimore.
As the single largest infrastructure effort that Amtrak is leading, the estimated budget for FDT is US$6bn nad the determined date for commencing the construction process is this year.
While Amtrak is developing its management structure for the FDT program shortage of an effective structure or sufficient staff in place is its problem.In order to providing management and oversight, the company decided to hire a delivery partner in December 2022 but until it appointed Advance, a joint venture led by Aecom and Jacobs, over than a year later, it relied on an overwhelmed internal team to manage multiple, complex, and concurrent commitments.
Initially, responsibility was assigned to one person who had limited support to manage and oversee such a large and complex project.
Considering that there was not an effective management and oversight structure or sufficient staff from the outset and the company struggled to generate the necessary planning in four key areas, that involves scheduling, communications, document management, and risk management, the program experienced delays and encountered a significantly increased risk of cost overruns and additional delays as it proceeds into major construction.
Additionally, the delivery partner must now complete programme management planning at the same time that it and Amtrak prepare for and start construction.
Advancing the program management planning by Amtrak, improving planning processes to ensure it implements a management structure, and providing sufficient staff early enough to avoid similar challenges on future projects, are the OIG’s three recommendations.
The first major contract, selecting the Clark Construction/Stacy and Witbeck Joint Venture for the Southern Approach construction package, was awarded to Amtrak in September 2023.
