The University of Michigan is inviting prospective partners to submit information via a request for qualifications for the design, construction and long-term operation of an automated transit system — the core component of U-M’s Campus Connector concept.
The university announced in June that it is revisiting the project, which would enable users to move between the Central, Medical and North campuses in minutes. At a virtual Industry Day, prospective vendors received an overview of the project’s goals, scope and requirements.
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“With the release of an RFQ, the University of Michigan continues to explore ways to develop a more cohesive and connected Ann Arbor campus,” said Geoff Chatas, executive vice president and chief financial officer. “We look forward to assessing prospective partners as we work to build an equitable and sustainable system that serves our growing university.”
The project aims to optimize cross-campus connectivity, decrease traffic congestion and parking demand, increase local economic development opportunities, encourage programmatic and academic connections between North and Central campuses, and complement universitywide sustainability and carbon neutrality efforts.
The concept would include a core automated transit system, to serve select hubs via an elevated guideway, as well as a corresponding high-efficiency, high-capacity bus rapid transit system.
U-M has been exploring the Campus Connector concept for several years in collaboration with the city of Ann Arbor and various local and regional stakeholders. The project has recently moved forward in conjunction with Campus Plan 2050, a long-term effort to explore how the Ann Arbor campus should be designed to support the university’s vision and mission.
The RFQ highlights a proposed automated transit system serving six passenger stations across the Ann Arbor campus and along an approximately 3.5-mile elevated guideway. Stations would be located at the Central Campus Transit Center, the Medical campus, Pierpont Commons, on Green Road on North Campus, at Hubbard and Murfin avenues on North Campus, and at the North Campus Research Complex.
Organizers are prioritizing rubber-tire systems, which would best mitigate potential route alignment challenges, noise and vibration concerns and space constraints. Upon completion, the system would initially support up to 4,000 passengers per hour, per direction, with increased capacity over time.
U-M is using a multi-step process to select a partner. Project organizers will develop a short list of qualified vendors from the RFQ. They then expect to release a request for proposals, which will result in the selection of a partner to move forward with the project’s development.
Planned routes, project characteristics and procurement processes are preliminary and subject to change. The university will share additional information as the project progresses.
