The agency in charge of the proposed $68 billion California High Speed rail project announced March 13 that it has received Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) from five "world class teams" to design and build the next segment of high-speed rail in the Central Valley.

The High-Speed Rail Authority says SOQs were received from (in alphabetical order):

• ·     California Rail Builders
• ·     Central Valley Connection Builders
• ·     Dragados/Flatiron, JV
• ·     Salini Impregilo/Security Paving, JV
• ·     Tutor Perini/Zachry/Parsons

The SOQ process is the first of two phases in the project procurement. With the SOQs now received, the Authority will evaluate them and create a list of qualified bidders to submit formal proposals. The proposals will then be evaluated based on a best value basis that includes technical and price components.

This segment of the project, Construction Package 4 (CP 4), has an estimated contract value of between $400 and $500 million. It consists of approximately 22 miles of civil works beginning one mile north of the Kern/Tulare County line and ending at Poplar Road north of Bakersfield. This phase extends south of Construction Package 2-3 (CP 2-3). 

CP 2-3 takes the high-speed rail system south towards Kern County, and extends in excess of 60 miles from the terminus of Construction Package 1 at East American Avenue in Fresno to approximately one mile north of the Tulare-Kern County line. CP 2-3 includes approximately 36 grade separations in the counties of Fresno, Tulare and Kings, including viaducts, underpasses and overpasses. The estimated value of the contract is $1.5 billion to $2 billion. CP 2-3 is located within the Fresno to Bakersfield project section. Dragados/Flatiron/Shimmick was selected as the design-build team for this segment last December.

Construction Package 1 (CP 1) was the first contract executed on the Initial Operating Section of the high-speed rail project. The CP1 construction area is a 29-mile stretch between Avenue 17 in Madera County to East American Avenue in Fresno County. It includes 12 grade separations, 2 viaducts, 1 tunnel and a major river crossing over the San Joaquin River. Currently under construciton, this segment is scheduled to complete in 2017. The design-build contract for CP 1 was awarded to Tutor-Perini/Zachry/Parsons (TPZP), a Joint Venture.

The California High-Speed Rail is scheduled to be the first high-speed rail system in the nation. The project is planned to connect the mega-regions of the state and by 2029, run from San Francisco to the Los Angeles basin in under three hours at speeds capable of over 200 miles per hour. The system is planned to eventually extend to Sacramento and San Diego, totaling 800 miles with up to 24 stations.