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orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-sunrail-cost-061109,0,2257003.story
OrlandoSentinel.com
Contractors got $44 million in failed SunRail deal
By Jason Garcia and Aaron DeslatteSentinel Staff WritersJune 11, 2009Florida lawmakers this spring voted to kill Central Florida's planned commuter-rail system, butstate contractors still made almost $44 million on the proposal.That's how much the state Department of Transportation spent on nearly 60 contracts tied toSunRail, according to documents released Wednesday.The total does not reflect all spending on the ill-fated $1.2 billion project. For example, it doesnot include money for right-of-way acquisition.The largest payments went to EarthTech, according to DOT's documents. The department'sprime consultant on SunRail was paid $10.1 million for services such as civil engineering andboth preliminary and final designs.Other expenses included $941,000 to five organizations for public relations, $91,000 forarchaeological services and $30,000 for a Web site.Myregion.org, paid $266,000, and Pecora & Pecora, which got $118,000, were among those thatreceived public-relations contracts.DOT paid CSX Transportation, whose tracks the state planned to buy, $462,000 for rail-safetyinspections, flagging and signal maintenance.Sen. Paula Dockery, the Lakeland Republican who led the charge to defeat the project, called it"an outrage" that the department spent "a quarter of a million taxpayer dollars to lead rallies andbus businesspeople up to Tallahassee to lobby this flawed CSX commuter-rail deal."Boosters defended the costs, calling them a necessary part of planning for such a majortransportation initiative. They also said it could prove to be money well spent if Central Floridaleaders are able to revive SunRail, though the odds of doing so appear long."We don't see this as a waste of money," said Christine Kefauver, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer'sproject leader on SunRail. "A lot of environmental work has been done that has a shelf life."
 
Kevin Thibault, DOT's assistant secretary for engineering and operations, said the money spentduring the past five years on environmental studies, designing train stops and other planningaren't wasted dollars because the federal government has now given its tentative blessing to theproject."When the community is ready to proceed with SunRail, they don't have to revisit this. It'salready done," Thibault said.But he conceded virtually all the expenses are tied to the specific SunRail project, meaning if itdoesn't materialize, that spending will be money out the window.Among the firms that drew taxpayer dollars is Dyer, Riddle, Mills & Precourt, an engineeringfirm where state Rep. Steve Precourt, R-Orlando, was a partner until early 2008, when he soldhis stake to focus full time on the Legislature. The company was paid $1.5 million for surveywork.Precourt said he worked in a different division of the company than the surveying section, whichwas hired before he was elected in 2006 to locate underground utilities.Other highly paid contractors include:•$3.4 million to Lochrane Engineering for surveys, utility coordination, underground utility anddesign.•$2.6 million to WRS Environmental Services for environmental-assessment services.•$1.9 million to URS Corp. for grade separation, rail relocation and program managementactivities.•$1.7 million to Shutts & Bowen for real-estate legal services.Beyond those contracts, the state and local governments also have poured another $15 million to$20 million into buying land around potential train-station sites."I still hold out hope, no matter how slim it is, that we'll be able to reconstruct this project,because I still feel it is so important for Central Florida," said Lee Constantine, R- AltamonteSprings. "Anything we can do to prepare us for this is still a positive thing."Jason Garcia can be reached at 407-420-5414or jrgarcia@orlandosentinel.com. Aaron Deslattecan be reached atadeslatte@orlandosentinel.com or 850-222-5564.
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