Great tunnel debate not over: Yet another expert says train tunnel will cost $1.5 billion

A raging debate over whether to build a tunnel or bridge to get passenger trains across the New River continues, with Fort Lauderdale and Broward County at odds over what a tunnel might cost.

Both have turned to independent consultants for answers. They don’t agree either.

BDO USA, the consultant hired by Fort Lauderdale, says a train tunnel can be built at a bargain price of $888 million. But a new report from Jacobs Engineering commissioned by the county says the true cost will be at least $1.5 billion.

An earlier report from the Whitehouse Group commissioned by both the city and county estimates a tunnel would cost twice that, a whopping $3 billion.

County officials have said they prefer a $500 million bridge because it will save taxpayer money.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis has drawn a line in the sand, insisting Fort Lauderdale will not be “bullied” into saying yes to a bridge that would potentially ruin a thriving downtown that has taken decades to build.

As the owner of the project, the county plans to seek federal and state funding for a bridge. But the county is less likely to get the money if Fort Lauderdale is hell-bent against a bridge, according to the experts.

Christopher Hodgkins, who oversaw construction of the Port of Miami tunnel, has reviewed all three studies.

Jacobs Engineering, the consultant for Broward County, was the engineer of record on the Miami tunnel, he noted. And their cost estimate came in high for that project too — nearly double the actual amount it ended up costing, Hodgkins told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

“When we built the Miami tunnel, they estimated it would cost $1.2 billion,” Hodgkins said. “But we ended up building it for $643 million.”

At the time, Hogkins was CEO of Miami Access Tunnel. Last year, he stepped down as CEO and took on the role of chairman of the board.

The twin tunnels opened in August 2014, connecting the mainland to the port of Miami to make it easier for cargo trucks to come and go. Both tunnels are three-quarters of a mile in length, 42 feet in diameter and some 120 feet below sea level.

The twin tunnels under the New River, as envisioned by the city’s consultant, would be 1.14 miles in length, 26 feet in diameter and sit 55 feet below sea level. (The Whitehouse Group envisioned a 1.8-mile tunnel.)

Numbers game

After reviewing Jacobs’ report, Hodgkins questioned some of the numbers.

“They are saying the design engineering will cost $263 million,” he said. “And we built our entire tunnel for $643 million. Our design engineering costs were $32 million.”

Hodgkins also noticed what he called a dramatically high contingency number in the county’s report.

The city consultant used a contingency of 27% of total capital cost to come up with its cost estimate of $888 million. The county consultant used a much higher contingency of 43% to come up with its cost estimate of $1.5 billion.

“Their contingency fee was close to 50 percent,” Hodgkins said. “Their design engineering fee was $263 million, according to their report. That’s an astronomical fee.”

In the report, Jacobs says it applied an allocated and unallocated contingency of 30% and 13%, which together adds up to 43%. That percentage follows the Federal Transit Administration recommendations, and it was applied to all cost categories, including Professional Services, the report says.

“Jacobs estimates a capital cost of $1.5 billion for the new shorter tunnel alternative, 69% higher than city consultant’s estimate of $888 million,” the report read. “Furthermore, Jacobs estimates operation and maintenance and cyclical replacement costs to be over $5.9 million/year, which is over 210% higher than the city consultant’s estimate of $1.9 million/year. These are major differences that raise serious concerns about how a new tunnel would impact county finances.”

No blank checks

County Commissioner Steve Geller shrugged off the differences between the two reports.

“They don’t agree,” he said. “I never thought they would. I saw that Jacobs disagreed with the price estimate from BDO.”

County officials are hoping the federal government will pay 50% of the tab. The county and state would split the rest, with each paying 25%. So far, there are no plans for the city to contribute a dime.

“The county is not going to give the city a blank check to build a tunnel,” Geller said. “It would not be responsible for the taxpayers of Broward County. What I cannot do is give a blank check.”

Trantalis, the mayor of Fort Lauderdale, says he’s not giving up on a tunnel.

“We’ll continue to work with the county to find a way to build a tunnel,” he told the Sun Sentinel. “A bridge is not going to work cutting through the city of Fort Lauderdale. It’s not a question of whether we build a tunnel. It’s a question of how we get there. We have not given up.”

The county’s independent report criticizes the BDO report for not using what it called an appropriate contingency and urges the county to consider building a bridge.

“Fortunately, there are other options, including new bridge designs expected to address stakeholder concerns based on previous proposals,” the Jacobs report states.  “Administration plans to continue on the current path-finalizing conceptual designs for a new iconic mid-level bridge (approximately 40 feet clearance over the water), coordinating closely with Brightline, the Florida East Coast Railway, Fort Lauderdale and all other key stakeholders, with the goal of building consensus on a more cost-effective approach to crossing the New River.”

‘Keeping hope alive’

But Hodgkins insists a tunnel can and will work to get trains across the river.

“We have one opinion from BDO,” Hodgkins said. “We now have a second opinion from Jacobs. It’s just another engineering firm with another number. And we’ll have a different opinion. We believe in keeping hope alive.”

Hodgkins says elected officials from both Fort Lauderdale and Broward County have asked him and his team at Miami Access Tunnel to come up with their own cost estimate.

On March 1, Trantalis and County Commissioner Lamar Fisher joined Hodgkins for a tour of the Port of Miami tunnel. During the tour, Fisher urged Hodgkins to send the county an unsolicited proposal for a train tunnel under the New River.

“We are not distressed by the Jacobs report,” Hodgkins told the Sun Sentinel. “On the meat and potatoes, we are very similar. It’s the contingency where we disagree. The contingency is conjecture, the what if. We have to do our valid engineering and construction cost estimates. We hope to get numbers to everyone by the end of the year.”

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan

Originally Published: July 12, 2024 at 5:37 p.m.