The Illinois Department of Transportation has selected PB as programme manager for the high-speed rail, 284-mile signature route from Chicago to St Louis, with $1.1bn (£725m) in Federal high-speed rail funding targeted for this project.
The Ohio Department of Transport has selected a PB-led team to provide consultant services for the development of a new intercity passenger rail service on an existing rail freight corridor in the Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati ’3C’ corridor, a distance of approximately 250 miles.
PB will carry out environmental work for various components and design for the track and capacity improvements. The project has been awarded funding of $400m by the US Federal Railroad Administration.
In Florida, PB will lead the consulting team selected by the Florida Department of Transportation to undertake the planning and design of a 230-mile high-speed rail line between Orlando and Miami.
The project involves preliminary engineering and environmental analysis, which includes recommending the final alignment and train technology to be used.
PB is already leading the programme management team overseeing the implementation, from design to commissioning, of the California High-Speed Rail, an 800-mile-long system serving Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego.
The system will use electrified trains capable of speeds of up to 220mph. The majority of the system will be at-grade alongside existing railroads, roads and highways. The project was recently allocated $2.25bn in Federal funding.
PB is managing projects accounting for a combined $4bn of the $8bn American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) high-speed and intercity passenger rail grants awarded by the Federal Government in 2010.
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