The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) this week approved a contract that will allow eight Small Business Enterprise (SBE) firms to work as General Engineering Consultants (GEC), providing expertise on a number of technical services for CTA transit projects.
The $20 million initiative is the first time that the CTA will set aside opportunities for SBEs to work directly as prime contractors for engineering services, instead of serving as a subcontractor to a larger firm.
“This new initiative is evidence of the success of CTA’s ongoing small-business support programs, which all have the goal of ensuring a vibrant and diverse workforce,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr. said in a statement. “We are proud to be able to foster growth among companies and firms that would otherwise not be able to compete for prime contracts.”
The eight SBE firms selected by the CTA board will provide expertise in the categories of surveying, geotechnical engineering, and architecture, and work to support a wide variety of projects under CTA’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).
Funded by CTA’s Capital Fund, the SBE contract will also utilize funding from the Federal Transit Administration, the Regional Transportation Authority, and the Illinois DOT. During the five-year contract period, each of the SBEs will perform small projects less than or equal to $500,000 on a task order basis, as needed.
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SOURCE: Chicago Transit Authority
