MONROVIA, CA The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority (Construction Authority) issued the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Alignment Design-Build Project; initiating a year-long process to hire the design-build team that will build the $1.5 billion, six-station Foothill Gold Line light rail extension from Glendora to Montclair, California. The RFQ is the first of a two-step, competitive process, that will result in a short-list of the most qualified teams to compete for the work. The RFQ requires interested teams and/or firms to detail their qualifications to complete all elements of the light rail project, experience completing similar projects, credentials of their key personnel, a staffing plan and their expected main subcontractors. They must also demonstrate financial and legal qualifications to conduct the work.

"As the first Measure M-funded rail project out of the gate, we know that interest in the project is very high in the industry," said Construction Authority CEO, Habib F. Balian. "We have developed a procurement process that will provide the Authority the best contractor for the best price; but it starts by identifying the most qualified teams and focusing our search on those teams."

Statements of Qualifications in response to the RFQ are due in January 2018; and will be evaluated by a committee of experts who will recommend the short-list of the most qualified and experienced teams to the Construction Authority board of directors. Only those teams short-listed through the RFQ process will receive the Request for Proposals (RFP), to be released in Spring 2018. The RFP will require the short-listed teams to review the engineering and planning for the project and provide their proposals to complete the project.

"We know that there are many qualified teams that could complete this project," said Balian. "This initial step is critical, as it allows us to narrow the field to those that are most qualified, so we can feel very confident moving into the next step."