MACTEC Providing Geotechnical, Environmental Services for Westside Subway Extension Heavy Rail Line and Regional Connector Light Rail Line Projects

LOS ANGELES, March 22, 2011 – MACTEC has been retained as a member of PB Americas team on the Westside Subway Extension project and a member of AECOM/PB Americas team on the Regional Connector Project for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Allen Kibler, President of MACTEC Engineering and Consulting, Inc., (www.mactec.com), made the announcement.

Under the two separate prime agreements, MACTEC will provide various geotechnical and environmental services for the Westside Subway Extension heavy rail line and Regional Connector light rail line projects. Total combined project fees are over $12 million.

MTA serves as transportation planner and coordinator, designer, builder and operator for one of the country's largest, most populous counties. More than 9.6 million people - nearly one-third of California's residents - live, work, and play within its 1,433-square-mile service area.

MTA plans to construct a new heavy rail passenger line, the $5.1 billion Westside Subway Extension, as a western extension of the existing Metro Purple Line from its western terminus at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, to the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Hospital. The extension is planned to be nine miles long and include seven new stations. Ridership has been projected at 49,000 new station boardings and MTA estimates an additional 27,000 boardings will be generated throughout the Metro system as a result of the subway extension. The project would connect key job centers such as Century City and Westwood with the Metro Rail system. MTA, citing a study by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, said the Westside Subway Extension could create about 40,300 jobs.

The $1.367 billion Regional Connector light rail project is expected to generate 16,000 new system-wide boardings and additional ridership on the connecting light rail lines in Los Angeles County. The regional connector is planned to be almost two miles long and include three new stations. The line would connect major downtown activity centers, connect three existing light rail lines, and reduce transit travel times by 12-20 minutes. MTA said the Regional Connector could generate about 11,400 jobs.

According to MACTEC Senior Vice President/Principal Perry Maljian, G.E., and Chief Engineer/Project Manager Martin B. Hudson, Ph.D., G.E., key tasks include:

Geotechnical explorations consisting of:
- Geophysics
- Borings
- Cone penetration tests
- In-situ testing
- Subsurface gas probes and monitoring
- Ground-water well installations
Hydrological studies
Geotechnical lab testing
Fault hazard investigation for the Santa Monica Fault and West Beverly Hills Lineament
Seismic hazards evaluation
Subsurface utility explorations
Existing foundation data record search and field confirmation
Subsurface hazardous materials explorations
Development of geotechnical data reports for tunnels and stations

MACTEC (www.mactec.com), based in Alpharetta, GA, is a leading engineering and design, environmental, and construction firm focused on four strategic business lines: Industrial/Commercial, Infrastructure (Transportation and Municipal), Energy, and Federal. MACTEC offers an ever-broadening portfolio of sustainable solutions, from renewable energy to facility asset management. With annual revenues of more than $440 million, MACTEC's 2,700-plus employees work from over 70 offices nationwide. MACTEC consistently ranks in the top 10% of Engineering News-Record's Top 500 Design Firms. The firm has been a fixture in Los Angeles since 1954.

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