Construction is underway on the high speed rail extension between Chicago and St. Louis.  IDOT and Union Pacific are about to open the TIER 2 Bid Package for contractors. 

Business opportunities with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) go through a bidding process. The bidding process for both organizations requires prequalification.

Additionally, minority-owned and women-owned companies are required to receive certification through IDOT for the Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) program. The Illinois Department of Transportation fosters equal opportunity for minority-owned, women-owned and other DBEs in IDOT’s federal and state-funded contracts.

At this time contractors have the  opportunity to become prequalified for:

Illinois High-Speed Rail – Tier 2 Bid Package
 
*Prequalification requirements are for general contractors only, sub-consultants should NOT apply at this time.

Stay Informed:

Visit http://www.idothsr.org/business to learn of the current business opportunities.

Current Business Opportunities Process:

1. Prime contractors have 30 days to become prequalified for each business opportunity
2. After the 30 period, a list of prequalified prime contractor’s information will become available on the HSR Current Business Opportunities page of this website.
3. Once the prime contractor’s information is available, the sub-consultants/DBE’s have the opportunity to market their services and contact the prequalified prime contractors for the inclusion of a particular bidding opportunity.

Contractor opportunities available on IL high speed rail project posted at Citizens For Modern Transit by Kim Cella.

…And the winner is

Steve Patterson

View all of the contest entries on Facebook

We are hosting the contest again in June. Send us pics of anything transit related…. Pictures on the MetroBus and MetroLink, stations, stops, trolleys, trains, buses, shuttles, etc. We want to see your transit pics.

You may send your photo entries to: info@cmt-stl.org or post it to our Facebook or Twitter pages. Event page for June.

Winner! CMT Best Transit Pic Contest Winner-May posted at Citizens For Modern Transit by jessica.

The draft FY 2013-2016 Transportation Improvement Program will be released for public comment on June 4, 2012. Subsequently, several public meetings will be held in June to receive public comment on the draft program of projects.  Below is a list of public meeting times and dates.
The open house schedule is:

Tuesday, June 12, 2012:  4 PM to 7 PM – St. Louis City – Regional Arts Commission, Studio, 6128 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63112

Wednesday, June 13, 2012:  4 PM to 7 PM Franklin County – Franklin County Government Center – Commission Chambers, 400 East Locust, Union, MO 63084

Thursday, June 14, 2012:  4 PM to 7 PM – St. Charles County – Spencer Road Branch Library, Multipurpose Room 112, 427 Spencer Road, St.Peters, MO 63376

Tuesday, June 19, 2012:  4 PM to 7 PM – Jefferson County – Hillsboro City Hall, 101 Second Street, Hillsboro, MO 63050

Wednesday June 20, 2012:  4 PM to 7 PM – St. Louis County – Maryland Heights Government Center, Municipal Courtroom, 11911 Dorsett Road, Maryland Heights, MO 63043

Thursday, June 21, 2012:  4 PM to 7 PM – Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair Counties – IDOT District 8 Headquarters, Regional Conference Room, 1102 Eastport Plaza Drive, Collinsville, IL 62234

For more information, visit their website.

Transportation Improvement Program Public Meetings in June posted at Citizens For Modern Transit by jessica.

The project is contracted for $36 million, $34 million of which is funded through federal aid.  The City of St. Louis, which co-owns the bridge with Metro, furnished a $4.8 million federal grant towards the project as well.  Only $2.4 million will be coming from local funds.

“The Eads Bridge, designed by James Buchanan Eads, was completed in 1874 and was the first steel structure bridge project in the United States. Now, after more than a century of use, it is in need of major repairs and a significant facelift. This structural rehabilitation project will replace support steel that dates to the 1880’s.”

Metro is committed to completing all of the work by the fall of 2015.

The general contractor for the project is St. Louis Bridge Construction Company, a local firm with extensive experience in working on bridges, highway and railroad structures, dams, levees and spillways. St. Louis Bridge is currently working on three other projects on the Mississippi River and is quite familiar with the Eads Bridge, having completed a rebuild of the deck of the bridge in 2003.

For more information, see the full article on Metro’s website.

Metro Announces Major Eads Bridge Project posted at Citizens For Modern Transit by jessica.

Public Transit Still More Affordable Despite Dropping Gas Prices posted at Citizens For Modern Transit by jessica.

Next, what a sweet commute we provided for many St. Louis commuters on May 10 with our Wake Up to a  Sweeter Commute event!  Thousands of St. Louis area bus, MetroLink, bike and walk commuters received a little pick-up on their commute with granola bars and information on the Guaranteed Ride Home during the morning commute.  Anyone who registers for the Guaranteed Ride Home now through the end of the month will be entered into a drawing for cash prizes. Talk about an even sweeter commute!

Last week, we hosted the first ever Great Race in St. Louis in partnership with Trailnet and WeCar by Enterprise. What an exciting, fun way to talk about the great alternatives for the work commute in St. Louis!  Unfortunately TEAM TRANSIT crossed the finish line 54 seconds behind TEAM CARSHARE (yes, we did have to run to and from both stations – so we got our physical activity for the day in as well!)  but we have already asked for a rematch for next year.

This week we have the Walkabout at the Rock Road Station to look at the possiblities at and around the station. What do you think would fit best in that community? What would increase transit usage? Come out and let us know your thoughts at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.

We also still have the May Transit Pic Challenge underway. Remember to send in your pics of St. Louisans making their move on Metro in May whether for work, play or any time of the day.  The winner will be selected on May 25 for a Free June Metro pass.  Just think your picture could be worth 1,000 rides in June! Send those in by email, Twitter or post on the CMT FAcebook page. 

For more information on all of the activities in May, check out the latest CMT newsletter.  CMT June 2012 newsletter

Special thanks goes to the St. Louis Regional Clean Air Partnership and the St. Clair County Transit District  for their support of all of CMT’s Make your Move on Metro in May activities. 

Remember if you are not a member of CMT, consider joining us today!

CMT definitely made some moves on Metro this May posted at Citizens For Modern Transit by Kim Cella.

The race started off from Post Office Plaza in downtown St. Louis with a welcome from St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. At 4:45, Mayor Slay gave the official signal to start the race and the teams departed. Members of TEAM TRANSIT raced on foot to the 8^th and Pine MetroLink station where they boarded the 4:51 p.m. train; TEAM CARSHARE ran to pick up its WeCar parked at 10^th and Washington; and, with their bikes already in tow, TEAM BIKE began peddling towards the finish line at C.J. Muggs in downtown Clayton. Arriving at the finish line at 5:15 p.m., TEAM CARSHARE was victorious, receiving a trophy from St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley.

“As the ambassador for TEAM TRANSIT, I was hoping for a win, but it was awesome to see what a close race it was,” said Kim Cella, executive director of Citizens for Modern Transit. “Our goal in hosting the race was to promote the education and expanded use of the St. Louis Metro area’s transit system and other viable transportation modes, and we definitely did that. All the teams crossed the finish line within 10 minutes of each other, demonstrating that all of these modes can be viable alternatives for the work commute.”  

Members of the race teams consisted of local media personalities and other influential St. Louisans. TEAM TRANSIT members were Kevin The Intern from the Phillips & Company Morning Show on Y98-FM; reporter Heidi Glaus from KSDK NewsChannel 5; reporter Nate Birt from the Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch online news publication; Stephen Gregali, special assistant to St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, and Kim Cella, executive director of Citizens for Modern Transit. Members of TEAM BIKE were anchor Kevin Steincross from KTVI FOX 2 News and Ann Mack, executive director of Trailnet; while TEAM CARSHARE included KMOV traffic reporter Sande Steveneson; Don Corrigan, editor-in-chief of the Webster-Kirkwood Times, South County Times and West End Word newspapers; Tony Moise, Vice President and General Manager of the Saint Louis Operating Group for Enterprise Holdings, and Steve Salemi, Airport Market Manager for Enterprise Holdings. 

Race supporters dressed in team t-shirts cheered on their favorite teams at both the downtown St. Louis starting line and at the finish line at C.J. Muggs where CMT, Trailnet and WeCar by Enterprise hosted a finish line party from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The event featured remarks from race team representatives, food, refreshments and an appearance from the Y98 prize van and Y98 staffers who were on hand with games and prizes. Those attending the party in were also entered into a raffle for the chance to win a special prize package featuring items specific to the winning transportation mode.

“Many thanks go out to all of our team members for their willingness to take part in this event, and to all the team supporters who came out to cheer on their teams,” said Cella. “TEAM TRANSIT is already looking forward to a rematch next year!”

The Great Race was held as part of CMT’s “Make Your Move on Metro in May” series of events which were proudly supported by the St. Louis Regional Clean Air Partnership.

Team Carshare wins first ever Great Race by seconds posted at Citizens For Modern Transit by Kim Cella.

To see the prior post and how St. Louis fares compare to other cities, click here.

Metro Adopts New Fares Today posted at Citizens For Modern Transit by jessica.

We want to thank  all our team members for TEAM TRANSIT, TEAM BIKE and TEAM CARSHARE for their participation, Trailnet and WeCar by Enterprise for working with us to host the event, CJ Muggs for providing the space for our finish line party, our media partner Y-98 for helping us spread the word, and the St. Louis Regional Clean Air Partnership for supporting all of our events this May!

We at CMT  think this is a great opportunity to talk about some of the fantastic options for commuting that we have in St. Louis while having a little fun.  Whether you  join us or not, we hope you will make a move on Metro this May for work, play, or any day.  Enjoy your ride and wish us luck! Hope to see you at the finish line . . .

Win or Lose, happy to be a part of the GREAT RACE posted at Citizens For Modern Transit by Kim Cella.

For all the details, click here. 

Join Us for “The Great Race” TODAY, May 17! posted at Citizens For Modern Transit by jessica.