“DDOT Selects Design-Build Team to Complete H Street/Benning Road Streetcar Line”

Photo by PoPville flickr user mosley.brian

From a press release:

Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced today that the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has selected the team of Dean-Facchina LLC to complete the design and construction of the District’s first modern streetcar line along H Street and Benning Road, NE. The proposed contract was sent to the Council this week for review and approval.

“This is an important step forward to ensure the streetcar line will be in operation late next year,” said Mayor Gray. “With this contract in place, residents will see immediate progress on the final construction needed to get the cars running on H and Benning.”

Dean-Facchina will be responsible for the design and construction of the western and eastern termini of the streetcar line, the overhead catenary power system, and the Car Barn/Training Center at Benning Road and 26th Street, NE.

“Design-build contracts overlap the design and construction phases, which can shave valuable time off the delivery schedule for projects like this,” said DDOT Director Terry Bellamy. “As soon as we issue the Notice to proceed the team will be able to hit the ground running to complete this line.”

Streetcar tracks and platforms were installed on H Street and Benning Road as part of the Great Streets Projects that were completed last year. The District also owns 3 streetcar vehicles and 2 additional vehicles are now under construction at the Oregon Iron Works/United Streetcar facility in Clackamas, Oregon.

Dean-Facchina LLC is a joint venture between M.C. Dean, Inc. and the Facchina Construction Company, Inc., a leading regional design-build heavy civil infrastructure firm. The Dean-Facchina Team was specially formed for this particular design-build project. Both firms have extensive experience working on District transportation project, and the team has named Systra and Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson (JMT) as the lead designers for this project.

For more information about the DC Streetcar, please visit www.dcstreetcar.com.

So when do you think we’ll see the first streetcar rolling down H Street?