Costs dampen desire for Lauderdale streetcar project
FORT LAUDERDALE — Plans for electric streetcars in downtown Fort Lauderdale could be derailed if Broward County commissioners decide they have had enough of the increasingly unpopular and costly Wave project.
State transportation officials are preparing to seek new proposals to build the system after rejecting the previous bids in November that would have cost close to double what had been budgeted.
Before the state can move forward it must receive authorization from county commissioners, who have had increasing concerns about the
project after the previous bids were announced.
“Right now, I think it’s on shaky ground,” Commissioner Chip LaMarca said of the planned 2.8-mile system of modern streetcars, which are considered light rail and are more like trains than trolleys.
State officials say they’re confident they can adjust the project so that the new proposals come within their estimates, but LaMarca and other commissioners worry about what will be cut out of the project in order to meet the budget.
LaMarca was on the prevailing side of a 6-3 commission decision in June to keep the project moving, but he now doesn’t know how project managers will find the needed savings without dramatically reducing the scope of the project — or increasing the cost of later proposed additions.
“I don’t think anyone was ready for this,” LaMarca said.
The project currently has $195.3 million in federal, state and local funding, with $114 million of that designated for the design-build contract.
The rejected contract proposals would have cost $188.7 million to $218 million, which would have pushed the overall price over $270 million. The county and Fort Lauderdale would have been responsible to pay for half of the extra cost.
The changes being considered to get the price down won’t affect the “quality, reliability or safety” of the streetcar system, Downtown Development Authority Director Jenni Morejon told her Fort Lauderdale board Thursday.
She said officials are hoping to lower costs by reducing the construction risks to contractors, having the state and not the contractor purchase the materials that will be used, changing the design of the vehicle maintenance facility that was supposed to be a hub for future expansions, and altering plans for required communication systems, utility relocations and how the Third Avenue Bridge is adapted to handle the trolleys.
County Commissioners Steve Geller and Mark Bogen, who voted for the project in June, say they’re not sure yet how they’ll vote this time around and need more information about the proposed changes. The authorization, which was removed from the Jan. 9 commission agenda, is now expected to come before commissioners Jan. 23, Commissioner Tim Ryan said.
“We know it’s either fish or cut bait on this one,” Ryan said.
Several commissioners see previous support for the Wave drying up in Fort Lauderdale, where all three mayoral candidates in the city’s Jan. 16 elections — and most of the City Commission candidates — have said they oppose the project.
County Commissioner Michael Udine, who voted against the Wave in June, said he’d like to see Fort Lauderdale send the county a resolution indicating where the city now stands on the project.
If the County Commission agrees to allow project managers to seek new proposals for the design and construction work, officials won’t know until at least April if the price is within the $114 million estimated cost.
The state and county agreement allows the new construction price to come in as high as $142.5 million — 25 percent over the estimate. That would mean the county, state and city could be required to come up with the extra dollars without getting another chance to back out.
Ryan said one of the reasons for postponing the county decision was to take another look at how those potential extra costs would be split.
Once the Wave is constructed, the county is committed to operating and maintaining the system, which could cost up to $6 million a year.
The Wave would serve passengers near Andrews Avenue between Northeast Sixth Street and Southeast 17th Street. The system could be expanded in the future to other parts of the county. It’s being paid for with state, federal, county and city dollars, and assessments charged to people and businesses living near the route. The earliest it would now be in operation is July 2021, officials said.
A proposed connection to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was removed from future plans, which LaMarca said was a major reason for the project in the first place. County transportation officials have said the airport link could be restored as part of an airport master plan to be released later this year.