JACKSONVILLE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / September 8, 2021 / WGI, Inc. (WGI) is pleased to announce that the pursuit team of Balfour Beatty and WGI -- collectively, the Vision 2 Reality (V2R) team - was selected to deliver the Bay Street Innovation Corridor (BSIC) Project on behalf of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). The JTA Board of Directors selected the Balfour Beatty / WGI V2R team during its August Meeting, following the conclusion of a two-step procurement process to launch what will be Phase I of the JTA's Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C) autonomous-vehicle service in Downtown Jacksonville.

The U2C is the JTA's vision for the conversion and expansion of the Skyway automated people mover (APM) system in Downtown Jacksonville and its surrounding neighborhoods. The three-phase U2C includes the Bay Street Innovation Corridor, the full conversion of the Skyway superstructure, and the expansion into nearby neighborhoods. When completed, the system will expand the current Skyway from a 2.5-mile system to the 10-mile U2C, leveraging the latest autonomous-vehicle technologies.

"This award represents a major milestone for the U2C, the JTA, and Downtown Jacksonville," said JTA Chief Executive Officer Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr. "We are confident the Balfour Beatty team and its partners will deliver a world-class project on behalf of the taxpayers of Jacksonville, placing our community at the forefront of innovation."

The V2R team will leverage an integrated progressive design-build (AV-DBOM) method, and Balfour Beatty and WGI will partner with Superior Construction Company Southeast; Beep, Inc.; Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.; and Miller Electric to deliver the project.

WGI Vice President and Alternative Delivery Leader Walter Kloss stated, "This is a very unique and first-of-its-kind project to implement and integrate a connected autonomous vehicle and a ‘SMART City' that promotes technology and innovation along this corridor. Our team at WGI could not be more excited about teaming with a best-in-class partner like Balfour Beatty on the Bay Street innovation corridor. This largest transit-based shuttle project in America will be a game-changer for the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority."

WGI's VP of New Mobility and Connected Communities, Lisa Nisenson, will help steer civic engagement and policy development. She said, "This project represents a transformation of transit services that reimagines existing infrastructure, incorporates autonomous technologies, and introduces new vehicle types for convenient, sustainable downtown circulators."

WGI, Balfour Beatty, and its partners within the consortium will oversee 60% design of the BSIC, a three-mile, at-grade service along Bay Street that will run from Hogan Street to the Sports & Entertainment District, near TIAA Bank Field, 121 Financial Field, and the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. The approximately $44 million project is fully funded and supported by local, in-kind, state, and federal funds including the $12.5 million BUILD grant awarded to the JTA in 2019.

"We are honored to be selected by Jacksonville Transportation Authority to construct another successful project for the Jacksonville community," said John Harris, senior vice president of Balfour Beatty's Buildings operations in Florida. "To be a part of the Ultimate Urban Circulator program is an opportunity of a lifetime, and we look forward to remaining a relentless ally to our client, our partners, and the community as we work to provide an innovative and revolutionary transportation network for the future of Jacksonville."

For more information on the U2C program and the Bay Street Innovation project please visit https://u2c.jtafla.com

ABOUT WGI

A multidisciplinary solutions-providing consulting firm, WGI was founded in South Florida in 1972, headquartered in West Palm Beach, and now has 18 offices in eight states, serving an active client base in over 30 states, specializing in the following disciplines: mobility planning, transportation engineering, land development/municipal engineering, traffic and transportation engineering, parking solutions, geospatial and land surveying, subsurface utility engineering, restoration and structural engineering, landscape architecture, environmental sciences and water resources, architecture, land planning, and MEP engineering. In 2021, ENR ranked WGI #175 -- up 12 places -- on its list of the Top 500 Design Firms, while at the same time naming WGI their 2021 Design Firm of the Year in the southeast United States. South Florida Business Journal ranked WGI #5 on its 2021 Top 25 Engineering Firms, and #59 on its 2020 list of Top 100 Private Companies. For more information, please visit www.wginc.com.

WGI Contact: 

Walter Kloss, P.E.
Vice President, Transportation Alternative Delivery
Walter.Kloss@wginc.com
904-470-4503

Will Schnier, P.E.
Chief Marketing Officer 
Will.Schnier@wginc.com
512-669-5560

Media Contact:

Kelly Owens
Alchemy Communications Group
ko@alchemycommgroup.com
561.222.4958 (mobile)
561.935.9953 x101 (office)

SOURCE: WGI Inc.