Streetcar construction nears end, costs in check

The revelation this week that the Cincinnati streetcar opening could be delayed overshadowed a bit of good news for the much-maligned project.

Construction on the Downtown and Over-the-Rhine route is winding down, and it appears workers could complete the job without any significant cost overruns. It also means those nightmarish construction-related Downtown traffic jams will be going away.

Some 90 percent of construction on the 3.6-mile loop is finished, including all major underground utility work. Most of the work will be wrapped up next month, and construction is on time and on budget, project leader John Deatrick said this week.

"Everyone should be proud of the work the (construction) contractor has done," Deatrick said.

The overall project, however, still could face delays and cost overruns in the wake of this week's revelation that the company building the city's five streetcar vehicles is 2-3 months behind schedule.

The streetcar is scheduled to open to passenger on Sept. 15, 2016, but CAF USA's manufacturing problems could push back the service start date and force the city to keep consultants on the payroll longer.

But keeping construction on budget is no minor milestone. Deatrick inherited a poorly planned budget when the former lead engineer on The Banks' project was hired in spring 2013 to try to steer the streetcar project in the right direction. Ex-Mayor Mark Mallory and his administration had buried basic project costs in the rainy-day fund, shrinking a $9.7 million contingency budget from the get-go.

In December, Deatrick said it would take some "luck" to keep construction work on time and on budget. Heading into the start of construction in summer 2013, Deatrick had some concern about workers running into unexpected problems while digging deep into century-old streets.

But Duke Energy and water and sewer crews have finished all major underground utility work without running into any big surprises such as old vaults, basements, pipes and soft soil. Other U.S. cities building streetcars in recent years haven't been as lucky. In Atlanta, for example, workers ran into unexpected underground problems during construction – leading to a $10 million cost overrun.

Deatrick cautioned City Council this week that there still is a chance for unexpected costs to emerge, but those could come as fallout from CAF USA's delay. There is $987,437 left in the project's rainy-day fund.

Crews have one block of track left to install on Main Street. Also, traffic-signal infrastructure and electrical-pole installation is more than 85 percent completed. Some 14 of the 18 station stops have been built, and most of the street re-paving has been finished.

Also, the maintenance facility in Over-the-Rhine is completed, with the exception of the installation of a wheel-repair machine, electrical infrastructure and touch-up work. Construction still is expected to cause lane closures and traffic congestion along parts of Main Street in Downtown through the end of October.

After construction is completed, crews will begin a 3-4 month testing process on the electrical system, traffic signals and other parts of the route. Once that round of testing is successfully finished, the streetcar vehicles are to undergo a months-long testing phase.

But it remains uncertain when that will begin. CAF USA now is not supposed to deliver the first vehicle until at least November.

"There's still a tremendous amount of work to do before the cars arrive," Deatrick said.