Two trains being built towards Orlando are predicted to add thousands of Florida construction jobs. For more information on Florida jobs, click here.
At least that’s what the supports of the two rail projects said when pitching the railways.
But when will hiring begin? The State Department of Transportation addressed this. A lot of people have inquired,” said state Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Olson. “That’s what it’s about, jobs. They want this thing to happen right now.”
According to an article on the OrlandoSentinel.com, Florida may be waiting awhile for these jobs to crop up.
The article states that contractors will begin adding to the payroll late summer or early fall, with the rate of employment increasing into 2011 and beyond.
“We’re moving as fast as we can. It hasn’t been for lack of trying,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, whose city is one of the sponsors of the SunRail commuter train.
The key is just how quickly the $4.4 billion that been promised to build SunRail and high-speed rail ends up in Tallahassee, the headquarters of the state DOT, which is overseeing both projects.
Millions of dollars – $44 million to be exact – already has been spent on SunRail, the first phase of which would connect DeBary in Volusia County with downtown Orlando and Sand Lake Road in south Orange County. Most of the jobs – spread over 60 contracts – were filled by consultants drawing up plans and completing studies.
Much of the preliminary legwork for the high speed train, which would link Orlando International Airport with Lakeland and downtown Tampa, has been handled mostly by state officials. They relied in part on work done previously at the behest of the now disbanded High Speed Rail Authority.
Right now, SunRail is ahead of high speed when it comes to hiring because two major construction contractors have been selected to build the 61.5-mile corridor: Archer Western of Chicago and RailWorks, a national firm with an office in Jacksonville. High speed does not have any contractors.
But SunRail will not start hiring until it gets a document from the federal government that essentially says all the necessary paperwork has been filled out correctly and approved. State and city officials speculate that won’t happen until late this summer.
So unemployed Floridians eager to find jobs will have to sit tight until the paperwork is complete.
But once this is done, SunRail proponents maintain that 6,700 construction jobs could be created by the train. High-speed rail, meanwhile, envisions about 23,000 construction-related jobs. Both maintain thousands more jobs will be spun on for development spurred the trains.
The article lists several construction jobs that will be available. Included in the list is asphalt contractors and workers to construct station parking lots; building trades workers and managers to build the stations; computer technicians for control center and other locations; control center workers (dispatch area) and managers; custodial staff; design engineers; technicians to install fire sprinklers at the stations; geotechnical staff/engineers; heavy equipment/construction equipment operators; locomotive engineers and workers on board the trains; and maintenance staff for the track and signals.
The train systems also will need mechanics to maintain the locomotives and passenger cars; plumbers to install water lines at the stations; public involvement workers to educate constituents about safety; safety personnel-including corridor safety and station security; signal workers to install and maintain the signals along the corridor; surveyors; workers to install track, ballast (rocks) ties, and other assignments along the corridor; and drivers to bring product to the construction sites.
