The U.S. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has announced its 2024 “Mega Construction” designees – large federal construction projects that have the “greatest potential to make a positive economic difference in a community.”
OFCCP’s Mega Construction Project (Megaproject) Program fosters equal opportunity in the construction trades workforce of federal contractors and subcontractors on large federal construction projects. Projects eligible for designation as megaprojects are valued at $35 million or more in funding, some part of which must be federal funding, and are expected to last for at least one year.
This year’s designees are as follows:
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District: Training and Education Center Modernization and Purchase of Fuel Cell Buses (California)
AC Transit was awarded $25.5 million from the 2023 Federal Transit Administration’s Bus and Low-and No-Emission Grant Awards, to help replace traditional diesel engines with 25 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses. The award also helps fund AC Transit’s modernization of its training and education center into “Zero Emission Bus University,” which will also include high-tech maintenance bays to service complex ZEB propulsion systems.
Apex – Integrated Sustainable Battery Active Material Production Plant (Kentucky)
Ascend Elements’ Apex facility will be the first domestic commercial-scale metal extraction and cathode active materials facility in the U.S., expected to produce enough material to supply over 250,000 electric vehicles annually. It will reduce the dependence on foreign material suppliers, jumpstarting the creation of a sustainable, secure lithium ion-battery economy in the U.S. The U.S. Energy Dept. funded half of the $632.4 million project.
Bayview Connections: Phase 1 Harney Way BRT and Cycletrack (California)
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency was awarded $20 million from the U.S. Transportation Dept.’s RAISE grant program for infrastructure improvements, including a cycletrack and undercrossing improvements underneath Highway 101 and on nearby streets, to support future large mixed-use development projects, including Candlestick Point-Hunters Point Shipyard.
CO 119 Diagonal Highway Mobility Improvement Project (Colorado)
With the aid of $25 million in federal funding, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Regional Transportation District and Boulder County are constructing improvements to CO Hwy 119, that will make traveling through the Boulder-Longmont corridor safer for all modes, as well as faster and more reliable for public transit.
Creating Equitable Connection on the Capital Trails Network (Maryland)
A Maryland-DC regional partnership investing in trails was awarded $25 million from U.S. DOT’s RAISE grant program to accelerate more than $70 million in projects that help complete the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, rehabilitate Sligo Creek Trail and Northwest Branch Trail and build the Central Avenue Connector Trail, Suitland Parkway Trail and Prince George’s Connector.
DART Cotton Belt/Silver Line Rail Shared-Use Trail (Texas)
The $1.243 billion Silver Line Regional Rail Project will extend rail line 26 miles between Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and Plano, traversing seven cities, interfacing with existing lines to other cities. To augment local funding, Dallas Area Rapid Transit received a $908 million loan from U.S. DOT, to be repaid by 3.5 million in project annual passenger revenue.
Downtown One-way to Two-way Street Conversions (Indiana)
The city of Indianapolis received a $25 million U.S. DOT RAISE grant to convert four pairs of one-way streets to two-way streets, adding bike lanes, multi-use paths and sidewalk improvements. The project improves safety as people drive faster on one-way streets than two-way streets, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Roads with lanes in both directions also create a more direct route, better visibility and more business.
General Sullivan Bridge Bicycle and Pedestrian Crossing (New Hampshire)
U.S. DOT awarded a $20 million RAISE grant to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to replace the General Sullivan Bridge with a new two-girder superstructure that will re-open the multi-use path across Little Bay, providing a link between Newington and Dover. Without the bridge, pedestrians and bicyclists are forced to take a 25-mile detour to avoid the closure.
James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse (Pennsylvania)
The General Services Administration is contracting for a $83.9 million repair and alteration project for the James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse in Philadelphia. The project will upgrade the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, which includes comprehensive repairs or replacement of obsolete air handling units and degraded ductwork, and the installation of enhanced controls and related electrical and life-safety upgrades.
MOVE New Haven On Street Bus Rapid Transit System (Connecticut)
U.S. DOT awarded the Connecticut Department of Transportation a $25 million RAISE grant to help build a new bus rapid transit system in New Haven. The project includes creating 18 new stops and four mini-hubs, traffic signal priority buses and the procurement of 15 new battery electric buses.
Ottawa Radiation NPL-8 (Illinois)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allocated $90 million to clean up the remaining area contaminated with radium as part of the Ottawa Radiation Areas site in Ottawa, Illinois. The funding is part of roughly $1 billion under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to start new cleanup projects at 22 Superfund sites and expedite over 100 other ongoing cleanups across the country.
Soil testing at Ottawa NPL-4.
Trails to Transit: Reconnecting Atlanta Communities (Georgia)
The City of Atlanta was awarded a $25 million U.S. DOT RAISE grant to construct Segment 3 and Connector Trails 1-3 of the Atlanta BeltLine Northeast Trail totaling roughly 2.7 miles of 14-foot-wide mainline trail and approximately 2.1 miles of 12-foot-wide spur trails. Construction includes ADA-accessible ramps, crosswalks and signals, lights and security cameras, environmental remediation, utility relocations, stormwater infrastructure, retaining walls, new and improved bridge structures, and landscaping.
Photo credit: U.S. General Services Administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
