AUSTIN, TX — Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) has initiated procurement of the multibillion-dollar final design and construction contract it plans to begin awarding next year.

Austin Light Rail Phase 1 will transform how people move around Austin with all-electric trains running every 5 to 10 minutes most of the day and connecting people to major job centers, education hubs, and other destinations. Designed to expand as the city grows, the project includes 15 stations along a nearly 10-mile alignment, miles of new pedestrian and cycling paths, and a new bridge across Lady Bird Lake.

As a first step in the procurement process, ATP released a request for information (RFI) for industry feedback on the project’s largest procurement, which will seek partners to provide design and construction services for the project’s transitway, tracks, systems, stations, bridges, traffic signals, utilities, drainage structures, and streetscape. The contract is expected to extend through the duration of design, construction, and opening for service, planned for 2033. Businesses have until March 19 to provide feedback to the RFI.

“Today marks an important milestone for Austin Light Rail as we begin to transition to the final design and construction phase of the project,” ATP Executive Director Greg Canally said. “Working closely with ATP, the partners selected for this contract will help shape and deliver nearly every aspect of Austin’s first light rail system and play a critical role in the project’s success.”

ATP will build Austin Light Rail Phase 1 using a progressive design-build delivery model that enables the organization to closely collaborate with industry partners. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027.

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Austin Light Rail is expected to create or support hundreds of thousands of jobs, and data show that more than 2,000 Texas businesses across the state can provide the goods and services needed to build Austin Light Rail and could compete to do business with ATP.