05 When may a project sponsor seek entry into the New Starts or Core Capacity Engineering phase?

By law, the following activities must be completed within two years of entering the Project Development phase before a New Starts or Core Capacity project may enter the Engineering phase:

• Select a locally preferred alternative;
• Have the locally preferred alternative adopted into the fiscally constrained Long Range Transportation Plan;
• Complete the environmental review process and receive a Categorical Exclusion, a Finding of No Significant Impact, or a Record of Decision from FTA; and
• Develop sufficient information for FTA to evaluate and rate the project against the statutory project justification and local financial commitment criteria and receive a Medium or better overall rating.

Additionally, upon completion of the environmental review process, FTA encourages project sponsors to complete as much engineering and design work on the locally preferred alternative during Project Development as needed to feel comfortable with the project cost and scope.

To be considered for entry into the Engineering phase, at a minimum the following will be needed:

• At least 30 percent of the non-CIG capital funding for the project must be committed
• At least 30 percent engineering and design work must be completed on the project. At this level FTA expects the project sponsor to provide documents at the following level of detail:
  • Project Management Plan and sub-plans that include processes and procedures to continuously manage the project during Engineering and a staffing plan that identifies key personnel and demonstrates the sponsor’s management capacity and capability;
  • Project definition – key elements are identified and reasonably defined;
  • Cost Estimate – addresses key items within the project's work breakdown structure at an appropriate level, includes a basis for the estimate, and includes required contingency based on the level of design and in accordance with FTA and industry best practices;
  • Schedule – addresses key activities, milestones, and elements within the project's work breakdown structure and incorporates proposed delivery methodology;
  • Third Party Agreements and Right-of-Way – are identified with a plan and schedule for completion;
  • Geotechnical – a preliminary geotechnical report has been completed and provided to FTA where applicable;
  • Project Delivery Method – the delivery method is identified (with related methodologies, activities, and milestones reflected throughout the other required products);
  • Value Engineering Report– the report is substantially complete and a draft report shared with FTA where applicable.  Additional value engineering products may be developed during the Engineering phase;
  • Safety – a preliminary safety hazard analysis and a preliminary threat and vulnerability analysis have been completed and the development of safety and security design criteria has been initiated;
  • Accessibility – the sponsor demonstrates steps that will be taken to ensure compliance with USDOT regulations and standards issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including a preliminary analysis of accessibility features such as accessible routes to, from and within the station sites or boarding locations; detectable warnings; signage and communications; curb ramps; and other accessibility features required under the ADA;
  • Constructability Review Report – a draft report is submitted, where applicable.  The report includes at a minimum the general construction approach, a discussion of site access, and other potential constraints.  A more detailed Constructability Review is to be performed during the Engineering phase that may focus on the bid documents, among other aspects, that would affect procurement of the construction contracts.