Hatch Mott MacDonald selected as prime designer for $927 million LA Metro Regional Connector Project

Iselin, N.J. — Hatch Mott MacDonald was selected as the prime designer for the Regional Connector light rail transit project, a design-build project with a budget totaling almost a billion dollars.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, known as LA Metro, chose HMM as part of a joint venture called Regional Connector Constructors. The overall contract (including construction) totals $927 million, with a 76-month schedule and future contract modifications not to exceed a million dollars.

“HMM has a successful 30-year history working with LA Metro, including the $2 billion Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor,” said President and CEO Nick DeNichilo. “We look forward to helping design this major element of LA’s transportation network.”

The Regional Connector will create an underground trunk line connecting the existing Metro Gold Line, Metro Blue Line, and Metro Exposition Line through downtown Los Angeles. By connecting the East/North system to the West/South system, it will eliminate the need for transfers and make possible a single-seat ride from the mountains to the beach.

The project will also connect LA Metro’s entire 80-station system with Metrolink, the Southern California passenger rail system that services 55 stations — hence the name “Regional Connector.”