The Bay Area Rapid Transit District's (BART) Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) project has been "in the works" for over ten years. We reported on the circuitous progress on this 3.2-mile (5 km) APM to link the BART regional rail system and the Oakland International Airport in three previous International APM Conferences: 2005 in Orlando, 2007 in Vienna, and 2009 in Atlanta. At each presentation, we fully expected the project to go forward soon, but many issues and obstacles prevented that from happening until the fall of 2010. This paper tracks the tortuous path between then and now, discusses some of the obstacles and how they were overcome, and provides a look forward to our new, but now design and implementation, challenges. Initially this was a design-build-operate-maintain (DBOM) project for both the system and facilities combined. Six teams were qualified as part of the initial procurement process. Funding and other issues caused BART to change the approach to design-build-finance-operate (DBFO) or public private partnership (P3). These two attempts were discussed in previous ASCE APM Conference papers. Three teams responded initially to the DBFO request for proposals (RFP). Failure to come to acceptable terms with the finalist team and problems in the global financial markets resulted in this procurement being cancelled. This paper includes lessons learned about using P3 in the U.S. transit world. BART and the other public stakeholders still supported this project. The federal government's American Recovery and Reconstruction Act (ARRA) "stimulus package" for transportation projects breathed new life into it. BART reverted to a DBOM approach (preferred by the APM suppliers and their facilities design and construction partners) and revised the RFP again. Four teams responded. Their proposals were evaluated in the fall of 2009. The BART Board voted to select the team of Flatiron/Parsons, a Joint Venture, with their systems subcontractor, Doppelmayr Cable Car (DCC), in December 2009. Notice to proceed was given in November 2010. Events at the local and federal levels that delayed the project for almost a year are discussed from a lessons-learned perspective. This paper ends with a summary of the project status and the design, implementation, and technological challenges expected between now and its opening in May 2014.
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