A light rail extension through the heart of Mesa

Central Mesa Light Rail Extension

More than 3,000 people make their home in downtown Mesa, and the area hosts more than 7,000 local employees and 11,000 visitors daily. The city had a number of concerns about the impact of light rail service, but none more important than preserving the historic, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere.

Since the new extension would run through Mesa’s downtown district, a number of stakeholders and consultants needed to be involved to ensure the project's success, which meant our team would have to hold numerous meetings to resolve local issues in an efficient manner. Even more, our plans would need to be in accordance with Federal Transit Administration regulation, so effective design coordination and management was key.

Now what? We came up with a plan that included public outreach, risk management, configuration management, and a robust project schedule.

To do this, the core design-build team was collocated in an on-site project office with Valley Metro and City of Mesa staff to ensure direct interface among the design disciplines. This close interaction among team members led to numerous breakout sessions to coordinate issues among civil engineers, systems designers, and architects. And, collaboration with City staff resolved all challenges to do with right-of-way acquisition, design progress, coordinate utilities, and monitor environmental issues.

Now completed, the $111-million Central Mesa light rail extension consists of four station platforms, three traction power substations, and a park and ride facility.