Tren Urbano Rail System Project
San Juan, Puerto Rico

With the completion of the first phase of the $1.5 billion Tren Urbano project, San Juan, Puerto Rico, will soon be served by a new rail transit line. DMJM+HARRIS’s leadership of strategic planning, management, and technical services successfully produced this new-start, turnkey demonstration project on an aggressive schedule that met the requirements of the Puerto Rican government. The 10-mile (17.2 km) first phase is a mix of at-grade, above-grade, and underground sections.

Designed to provide commuters and visitors with a modern alternative to the island’s heavy traffic congestion, Tren Urbano is a 16-station, high-capacity third-rail system linking key commercial, institutional, and residential destinations in the densely developed adjacent municipalities of Bayamon, Guaynabo, and San Juan. Future phases will add connections to Old San Juan’s popular and tourist destinations, the airport, and the Carolina city center.
Two stations in the Rio Piedras area will be underground. This is in one of the most sensitive historic areas in Puerto Rico. Substantial ridership and focused economic development are anticipated at station locations serving the office district, medical center, universities, government services, key residential neighborhoods, town centers, and major highway intersections.

Responding to the client’s ambitious schedule requirements, DMJM+HARRIS staff published a Draft and a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) within 16 months of project inception. We obtained the federal Record of Decision and a federal full-funding grant agreement within 18 months. And our construction procurement specialists developed an aggressive, industry-sensitive procurement approach that resulted in the successful bidding of $1 billion worth of contracts.

Because of the urgent need for Tren Urbano—demonstrated by its unprecedented 90 percent level of public support— DMJM+HARRIS coordinated project planning and design processes concurrently with the environmental analysis. This strategy made it possible to award the first design/build/ operate/maintain contract almost immediately upon completion of the EIS.

Combining a variety of techniques and media for informing the public of the status and benefits of the Tren Urbano project, DMJM+HARRIS also provided strategic and technical support to a program of public meetings, interagency cooperation, media relations, information access, public hearings, and special events. We also achieved the client’s goal of transferring technical knowledge about transit planning, design, and construction through the design and implementation of a conscientious program by which Tren Urbano staff participated in structured mentorship programs and attended monthly seminars by project experts. A professional development program with M.I.T. and the University of Puerto Rico was implemented and coordinated by DMJM+HARRIS to open career pathways for local students interested in pursuing transportation-related design and engineering professions.