City of Milwaukee officials seek proposals for downtown streetcar project

MILWAUKEE -- The city of Milwaukee has issued a "request for proposals" for Milwaukee's downtown streetcar project.

Contractors have until June 1st to put their plans together and submit them to the city.

The company that wins the contract will manage the downtown streetcar loop and the loop that extends to the lakefront.

Those projects are expected to last until the end of 2018.

The $128 million project includes the engineering behind the plans, and the purchasing of the actual streetcar vehicles.

Streetcar service is expected to begin in fall of 2018.

Below is a statement issued to FOX6 News by the City of Milwaukee's Department of Public Works regarding this request for proposals:

The City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to procure a Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) to provide preconstruction and construction services for The Milwaukee Streetcar Project Phase 1 and the Lakefront Line extension.

The CM/GC will be responsible for all construction activities, including installation of the rail, systems including the overhead contact system and streetcar stops - all necessary civil and road work - and the operations and maintenance facility.

This RFP and supporting documentation is available on the City of Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works website at milwaukee.gov/mpw. Potential proposers should call (414) 286-3314 to have their company’s name and contact information placed on the plan holder’s list once they have printed the RFP.

Proposals are due at the Department of Public Works by 4 p.m. June 1, 2016 and should be addressed to the City Engineer. The City hopes to select and engage a CM/GC later in June.

The CM/GC contract will include a DBE goal of 21% and an RPP (Residential Preference Program) goal upwards of 40%.

It is anticipated that construction for Phase 1 and the operations and maintenance facility will start late Summer/early Fall 2016 and will extend through 2017 into 2018. The first Brookville streetcar vehicle is anticipated to be delivered in December 2017. After construction is complete there will be a lengthy testing and start-up period. Revenue service for Phase 1 is planned for Fall 2018. Anticipated revenue service for the Lakefront Line is sometime in 2019.

Currently Phase 1 and the operations and maintenance facility are at a 95% design level, and the Lakefront Line is at 30%. The Lakefront Line project recently approval to proceed with the award of the federal TIGER funding last October. Utility relocations have started in advance of the mainline construction activities last fall and are currently underway. Utility work will continue through 2016 into 2017.

The CM/GC procurement method allows for the City to select a contractor based on price, qualifications and approach to the project. The CM/GC approach is the most common project delivery method for streetcar construction projects in the U.S., and has been used in Kansas City, Detroit, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Tacoma.

Background on The Milwaukee Streetcar is available at themilwaukeestreetcar.com.