Green Line Extension Removes Oversight Contractor

SOMERVILLE, MA – The firm hired to help oversee operations on the Green Line Extension project is now out. CH2M Hill was awarded a $57 million contract in May – the largest since the project was put on hold two years ago – to work alongside the MBTA in managing construction of the extension into Somerville and Medford.

First reported by the Boston Globe, the decision to remove the Colorado-based consultancy came after the acquisition of CH2M Hill by Jacobs Engineering, one of the teams shortlisted for the project's design-build contract. The MBTA sought to avoid any potential conflict of interest, MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said in an email. He added that CH2M "understood why this action needed to be taken."

The MBTA will move on to HAKS Engineering, which competed with CH2M Hill for the oversight contract. The agency is in the process of negotiating with the firm to fill the role. Pesaturo said the MBTA has notified the FTA of its decision and will seek approval from the Fiscal and Management Control Board next month.

Green Line Extension project manager John Dalton is "confident" that the contractor change will not have an impact on the overall project timeline, Pesaturo said.

The $2.3 billion project will add seven new stops in Somerville and Medford; construction is slated to be completed by the end of 2021. The three shortlisted design-build teams are required to submit proposals by September.

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