Baker Awarded Contract to Prepare Environmental Impact Statement for Midwest High Speed Rail

Chicago (November 19, 2013) - Michael Baker Jr., Inc., an engineering unit of Michael Baker International, LLC, has been awarded a three-year, $9.8 million contract by the Illinois Department of Transportation to prepare a Tier 2 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the future expansion of high speed rail service on the Chicago – St. Louis corridor between Granite City, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri.  Baker will serve as the lead consultant for the project team, which includes STV Incorporated as its joint venture partner and eight additional consultants.

Baker will lead the environmental analysis effort for the roughly 20-mile corridor, provide preliminary engineering for the planned structures, and author the EIS document for approval by the Federal Railroad Administration.  The project will include the study of a new railroad bridge crossing the Mississippi River and will require the coordination and cooperation of two states (Illinois and Missouri), two railroads and several local agencies.

“Baker is honored to be partnered with the Illinois Department of Transportation in bringing high speed rail service to the state,” said Baker’s John O’Neill, P.E., project manager. “This project represents one of the first steps in an eventual system linking the major cities of the Midwest and enhancing the economic viability of the region.”

About Michael Baker International, LLC

Michael Baker International, LLC (Baker), is a leading provider of engineering, development, intelligence and technology solutions with global reach and mobility. With more than 5,000 employees in offices across the United States and internationally, Baker is consistently ranked by Engineering News-Record among the top 8 percent of the 500 largest U.S. design firms. Baker’s Engineering and Development division provides planning, architecture, engineering, construction services, asset management and asset renewal for a broad range of infrastructure in both the private and public sectors. Baker’s Technology and Intelligence division provides human intelligence operational support, analysis and training, management consulting and competitive intelligence, emerging technologies consulting, software and application development, and enterprise solutions to meet our clients’ most important mission objectives across the broad spectrum of counterterrorism, threat finance, cyber security and network operations and other priority missions. Learn more at www.mbakerintl.com.

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