The Florida Dept. of Transportation has hired a team of Kansas City, Mo.-based HNTB Corp. and Wilbur Smith Associates of Columbia, S.C., to serve as program managers for its Florida Rail Enterprise. The FRE is the newly launched agency that will oversee Florida's development of inter-city high-speed rail service.
Nazih Haddad, FRE’s chief operating officer, said HNTB and WSA will assist the agency’s staff on an ongoing basis in developing the state’s HSR program. The two companies had previously worked together as general consultants to the state in its long-term efforts to study and eventually develop high-speed passenger rail service.