Keeping Dallas moving: A $1.7B light rail expansion delivered on budget

DART needed to nearly double its light rail footprint while protecting taxpayer investment on one of the largest transit expansions in the region's history. The $1.7 billion build-out added twenty new stations to the existing 45-mile system and included 26 miles of double-track guideway, bridges, retaining walls, underground structures, utilities, street improvements, and at-grade and elevated station platforms. 

Delivering a program of this scale under a construction manager at-risk (CMGC) approach meant DART needed a partner who could keep pace with complex contract negotiations, verify that contractor costs stayed aligned with budget, and manage risk across multiple concurrent corridor projects. The Southeast Corridor expansion ($400 million) and Northwest Corridor expansion ($470 million) each carried their own scheduling, cost and risk considerations, all of which needed to come together without compromising the program's overall budget or timeline.

We served as part of the systems integration consultant team, providing construction contract administration services for both the Southeast and Northwest Corridor expansions. As an integral member of the CMGC program management team, we led contract negotiation, change management, cost and price analysis, cost estimating and risk assessment.

We managed more than $850 million in guaranteed maximum price negotiations, including review and analysis of contractor packaging strategies and bid tabulations. We coordinated annual contractor job cost audits, comparing actual costs against the guaranteed maximum price to forecast cost to complete. Our team also negotiated labor and burden rates and equipment ownership and operating rates and developed economic price adjustment clauses for copper and reinforcing steel, helping shield the program from material price volatility over the course of construction.

The Light Rail Build-Out Phase 2 was completed in December 2010, expanding DART's light rail transit system by twenty stations and giving residents across Dallas, Carrollton and southwest Dallas new access to reliable regional transit. Our cost oversight and negotiation work helped keep more than $850 million in contractor pricing aligned with budget across two major corridor expansions, supporting DART's ability to deliver a $1.7 billion program responsibly.