The team building the 32-mile-long first phase of a $1.2-billion Central Florida commuter rail project, which endured years of political delay, is making its way through a unique set of coordination challenges to get the first trains moving next spring.
The $168.1-million design-build-maintain contract for Phase 1—held by a joint venture of Archer Western Contractors, Tampa, and RailWorks Track Systems, New York City—is transforming an active freight line into a hybrid system that is passenger-centric during commuter hours. The first phase of the total 62-mile SunRail line, which stretches 32 miles from DeBary in Volusia County to Sand Lake Road in Orange County, is about 85% done.