Graphic: Rendering of Future Claremont A Line Station

At their January meeting, the Construction Authority board of directors voted unanimously to award the design and engineering services contract for the Pomona to Claremont project to the engineering firm of Parsons Transportation Group, Inc. (Parsons). This major milestone followed a competitive procurement process that began in June 2025 and saw bids from multiple teams.

The six-year, $60 million design and engineering services contract is the first of two major contracts to be awarded as part of the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) delivery method that was adopted by the Construction Authority for the project last year. The contract will include designing all elements of the 2.3-mile light rail extension from its current design level of approximately 30% to “Approved for Construction” drawings, as well as supporting the project with any needed design services during construction.

Parsons was determined to be the top proposer of the competing teams following a two-step evaluation process. Parsons scored highest (94 points out of 100) on the evaluation criteria related to the company’s competence and qualifications, as presented in their written proposal, which took into consideration team qualifications such as relevant experience, financial stability, staffing and team organization, and project plan and approach. They also received the highest score during the interview stage (47 points out of 50).

The procurement process to hire the contractor (through a construction manager contract) – the second of the two contracts needed to deliver the project by CMAR – is currently underway, with the Construction Authority board this month also approving release of the Request for Proposals (RFP), following a successful industry review period of the draft RFP that was completed late last year.

The construction manager contract is expected to be awarded this coming May and will include an initial phase of work during project design that includes providing constructability reviews, value engineering, third party coordination and cost estimating; with the possibility of building the project if the team successfully negotiates a construction services contract with an acceptable price once the project reaches 85%-90% design. Assuming a successful bid for the construction work, it is expected that major construction would begin in late-2027/early-2028 and is take approximately four years to complete.