Tennessee – The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations reported the state needs at least $58.6 billion in public infrastructure improvements from July 2019 to June 2024 – a $3.77 billion increase from the previous year’s findings.

Of the $3.8 billion increase, almost $3 billion is attributable to increases in the estimated cost for transportation and utilities, which rose for the fifth year in a row.

Total estimated costs for current infrastructure needs fall into six general categories:

The report includes one-page summaries that list the estimated cost for all types of needed infrastructure in each county by stage of development, highlight the top three types of infrastructure improvements needed in each county based on the total estimated cost, and provide comparisons of the infrastructure needed at public school systems to student enrollment.

Nearly $10.3 billion in infrastructure improvements is needed in Davidson County (Nashville) over the five-year period with transportation, school renovations, and water and wastewater needs topping the priorities.

More than $6.05 billion is needed in Shelby County, where Memphis is located. Transportation, post-secondary education, and water and wastewater top the priority list for the five-year period.

Knox County, home to Knoxville, is in need of more than $4.05 billion in improvements with post-secondary education, transportation, and water and wastewater infrastructure needs at the top of the project priority list.

Hamilton County, part of the Chattanooga, TN-GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, requires $3.57 billion for transportation, post-secondary education, water and wastewater, and other infrastructure needs.

Excluding improvements needed at existing schools and those drawn from capital budget requests submitted by state agencies, neither of which includes funding information, only $15.5 billion in funding is available for the remaining $44.3 billion in needs.

Illinois – The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) unveiled the designs for four Red Line stations on January 28 as part of the $2.1 billion first phase of the Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) project.

CTA will rebuild the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn, and Bryn Mawr rail stations, transforming each into new, modern, larger, and fully accessible stations to customers with disabilities. The new stations will include elevators and escalators, wider platforms, and improved amenities.

The $2.1 billion RPM Phase One project is the first part of CTA’s plan to rebuild the Red and Purple lines between Linden and Belmont. Phase One work will benefit the entire Red Line by addressing chronic overcrowding and delays while modernizing infrastructure that is more than a century old. The Red Line is CTA’s busiest line, carrying nearly 70 million riders in 2019.

Three major components of the first phase are:

The RPM Program, which will be done in multiple phases, will rebuild the 9.6-mile stretch of Red and Purple Line track structure and stations on the North Side that are a century old. RPM will replace aging infrastructure, increase CTA’s capacity to increase train service as needed, and improve service for customers with more reliable, comfortable service. Future phases of RPM have not yet been announced and are currently unfunded.

Florida – Inspired by Wyoming’s successes with bitcoin and accompanying regulations, the mayor of Miami is promoting his city as a hub for crypto innovation.

The municipal government recently became the first city website to host a white paper on bitcoin, and city officials are actively exploring how the city can best utilize bitcoin and related technologies in its support and attraction of businesses and entrepreneurs innovating in the space.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the city could offer its employees the choice to have their salaries paid in bitcoin, local fees and taxes could be paid using cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, and the city’s treasury could invest some of its capital into bitcoin.

Suarez envisions a public-private partnership (P3) in which private partners are rewarded for defraying risk from public investors.

Bitcoin is the invention of a pseudonymous computer programmer called Satoshi Nakamoto. In October 2008, Satoshi published a white paper called "Bitcoin: A Peer-To-Peer Electronic Cash System," outlining his proposal and the mechanics of what is now commonly referred to as

Bitcoin’s “blockchain.”

The Bitcoin network, which currently secures over $600 billion in value, has run continuously without incident since its launch in 2009. Some financial advisers believe its native cryptocurrency of bitcoin could become the next great store of value in the digital space.

Kentucky – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will dedicate $110.1 million to the Kentucky Lock and Dam project in its Fiscal Year 2021 Work Plan.

USACE will commit the additional funding to a $250 million to $500 million construction contract to extend the lock by 1,200 feet.

The Army Corps’ Nashville District plans to advertise the Downstream Lock Monoliths Contract by late winter or early spring and award it by September 30. When executed, it would finish the new lock’s chamber and place all the remaining concrete. Construction is expected to begin in December.

According to USACE, the Kentucky Lock’s shipment delays are among the longest in the country, hindering the more than $5 billion worth of commodities that flow through the lock every year. Once completed, the new lock addition will almost completely eliminate these delays.

Maryland – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published a draft environmental impact statement for the construction and operation of what would be the first maglev system in the U.S.

Planned to connect Baltimore to Washington, D.C., the high-speed rail technology runs on a grade-separated, fixed guideway powered by magnetic forces at speeds more than 300 mph. The system would operate underground (deep tunnel) and on elevated (viaduct) guideway.

The project includes two terminal stations in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore and one intermediate station at the Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport. The system requires additional facilities to operate including one trainset maintenance facility (TMF), two maintenance of way facilities, and other various smaller ancillary facilities.

FRA planners developed 12 build alternatives ranging in estimated construction cost from $10.6 billion to $12.9 billion. Each build alternative follows the same common alignment in deep tunnel from the Washington, D.C. station to just west of the Anacostia River. The alignments then split and follow along either the east or west side of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in a combination of deep tunnel and viaduct. The alignments re-converge just north of MD 175 near Fort George G. Meade. The alignments then continue in deep tunnel north through the BWI Marshall Airport tunnel and ultimately terminate at the Cherry Hill Station or Camden Yards Station.

The project is part of a phased maglev system that would link New York to Washington, D.C. Federal approval in 2021 would allow operations to begin by 2030.

Rhode Island – The Newport Public Schools district anticipates issuing two solicitations this week for construction of the new $98.8 million Rogers High School.

District representatives said they expect to issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) for architectural and engineering services and a request for proposals (RFP) for a construction manager at risk for the new 755-student campus.

It will replace the existing Rogers High School, which had the direst structural needs among Rhode Island’s 60 high school campuses according to a School Building Authority report in 2017.

School Building Committee members will review the applicant submissions and make recommendations to the School Committee and anticipate completion of contract negotiations this spring.

Construction is scheduled to start in spring 2022 for a fall 2024 opening.

Oregon – The board of trustees at Oregon State University approved construction of a $70 million Arts and Education Complex at their January 29 meeting.

The 49,000-square-foot complex will serve as a center for performing arts classes, programs, and performances. The facility, which is scheduled to open in the 2022-23 academic year, will include classrooms, offices, performance theaters, and rehearsal rooms.

Key components of the new complex will feature teaching and performance spaces designed for collaboration in technology. These spaces will include a:

A $25 million lead gift from an anonymous donor, along with $10 million in other philanthropic gifts and $35 million in state of Oregon-paid bonds will finance construction of the complex.

In addition, trustees approved a $16.35 million renovation for Fairbanks Hall, which serves the College of Liberal Arts, and a $6 million renovation of Graf Hall, which houses the College of Engineering’s robotics program.

Arizona – The state’s Department of Education (ADE) released a request for information (RFI) to gather input on Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Event Management Systems (EMS).

ADE officials are exploring options for the desirability and feasibility of issuing one solicitation for a combined or integrated management system for LMS and EMS or publishing separate solicitations for each solution.

The department is reviewing the LMS service with the expectation that it will be conducting a new solicitation for the service. ADE is reviewing its EMS service to determine the desirability and feasibility of having an outside vendor provide an EMS solution that integrates with the chosen LMS solution. ADE anticipates that both systems will be Software as a Service (SaaS) and Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) software services.

In Fiscal Year 2020, the LMS and EMS systems were responsible for 1,052 total events and 39,980 reservations. The EMS accounted for $1.5 million in total payments.

Information provided in response to this RFI will be used by ADE to structure and prepare any potential future request for proposals for LMS, EMS, or combined LMS-EMS services.

RFI submissions are due by 3 p.m. MST on February 17.

Maine – The state’s Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) recently published its annual searchable database of construction projects forecast for the next three years.

One of the major projects scheduled to start in this timeframe is the $40.5 million replacement of the Ticonic Bridge that connects Waterville and Winslow over the Kennebec River. It consists of a former trolley line dating to 1909, roadway built in 1936, and another roadway constructed in 1970.

The Ticonic Bridge Replacement Project will replace the current bridge, consisting of the three-part structure, which has deteriorated to the point that the end of its useful life is near. Further attempts to repair or rehabilitate it will not restore the full integrity of the bridge to meet today’s safety needs, load requirements, or geometric standards for regional rural residents.

MaineDOT is seeking $25 million from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant, which it will match with $8.1 million in department funds. About $7.4 million will come from Maine’s Core Federal Funds.

Two Augusta-area bridges are scheduled for replacement. The Rines Hill Bridge project is estimated at $4.45 million, and the Western Avenue Bridge replacement is anticipated to cost $8.5 million.

Central Maine Regional Airport has scheduled $859,000 in safety and infrastructure improvements, and the Pittsfield Municipal Airport is planning construction of a six-bay hangar and other infrastructure upgrades.

Paving projects for state routes 139 and 104 are scheduled for $2.93 million and $920,000, respectively.

Alaska – The state’s Division of Air Quality issued a request for information (RFI) for input on data acquisition systems that would support monitoring and quality assurance functions of the Alaska’s ambient air quality monitoring network.

Under the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Air Quality Monitoring and Quality Assurance group is seeking alternatives to its existing Data Acquisition System (DAS). The department uses low-cost sensor technology at nine regulatory monitoring sites throughout the state to address localized air quality concerns.

The department collects the data to provide near real-time public access to the information through its website and the Air Now website maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Data also undergo a validation process before submission to the EPA’s database.

This RFI is to identify sources that could provide a data acquisition and management system that provides logging of real-time concentration and quality assurance data from various regulatory and nonregulatory particulate and gaseous air monitors deployed throughout the state. In addition, the division desires a system that features web display of real-time data, compatibility with an existing Federal Reference Method (FRM) laboratory information system, data validation capabilities, ability to report data to EPA systems, and comply with EPA principles.

The deadline for RFI responses is 4 p.m. AKST on February 8.

Arkansas – Staff members at Fayetteville Public Schools are considering a public-private partnership (P3) for a 1-acre tract fronting Rupple Road adjacent to 22 acres where a middle school is planned.

Zoned for community services, the city will allow services such as eateries, residences, and retail. The district will retain the property as open space, and trustees’ approval will be required for development.

The district purchased the land in May 2020 with plans to open the new middle school in August 2023. Construction is anticipated to start in spring or summer of 2021. The school will have a layout modeled after other middle schools in the district and include a full-size gym.

Oklahoma – The Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport has progressed to the fourth and final phase of its modernization project with plans to solicit bids soon for several terminal projects.

Work will involve construction of a new passenger holding area and covered boarding gate, improvements to airline and car rental space, and relocation of baggage screening devices.

Additional improvements include dividing corridors for loading and unloading passengers, enlarging the Transportation Security Agency screening area, and installing a covered bridge to connect the passenger holding area to airplanes.

Estimated cost of the fourth phase is $9 million.

Louisiana – The Southern University Board of Supervisors approved the appointment of Dr. James Ammons Jr. as permanent chancellor of Southern University of New Orleans. Prior to his appointment as interim chancellor, he served as executive vice president of the Southern University System and executive vice chancellor of Southern University and A&M College. 

Florida – The Lee County Board of Port Commissioners named Benjamin Siegel as the executive director of the Lee County Port Authority on January 21. Siegel has been with the Lee County Port Authority since 1992 and most recently served as the acting executive director. Before that, he was deputy executive director of administration. 

Michigan – The Albion City Council selected Haley Snyder as city manager. She will succeed Darwin McClary who resigned. Snyder had been serving as acting city manager since July 2020. Prior to that, she was Albion’s assistant city manager, deputy clerk, and treasurer. 

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) selected Eric Hysen as its new chief information officer (CIO). If appointed by the White House, he will succeed Karen Evans who stepped down January 20. Hysen most recently served as a senior fellow for the National Conference on Citizenship. Prior to that, he was executive director of the DHS digital service. 

Mississippi – Gov. Tate Reeves appointed Stephen McCraney as the new executive director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. McCraney, who succeeded Greg Michel, most recently served as the agency’s deputy director and chief of staff. Before that, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Mississippi Army and Air National Guard. 

North Carolina – The Martin County Board of Commissioners named James Bennett as the new county manager. Bennett most recently served as town administrator for the town of East Spencer. Prior to that, he was town manager of Red Springs and assistant county manager for Anson County.

Mary Scott Nabers, Publisher

Devin Monk, Editor

Government Contracting Pipeline, a publication of Strategic Partnerships, Inc., is a free, weekly newsletter detailing important happenings nationwide and the premier source for federal, state, and local government news and contracting opportunities.