Local transit officials announced Tuesday they have awarded a $46.1 million contract to the consulting firm CH2M Hill Inc. to help oversee the next phase of Honolulu’s rail project.

The general engineering consulting contract covers four main tasks as construction of the 20-mile, 21-station project along Oahu’s South Shore moves ahead.

The agreement eventually will succeed a $150 million contract with New York-based transportation firm Parsons Brinckerhoff, which involves 23 tasks and ends next year, according to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation.

Several of the tasks covered under the Parsons contract are already complete, HART officials said. Other continuing ones will likely be included in future contracts that go out to bid. Additionally, HART, a semiautonomous government agency, will take direct responsibility of at least seven other tasks covered under the Parsons contract, they said.

The new contract with CH2M Hill requires that the firm:

» Provide project cost, schedule and performance data as required by the Federal Transit Administration, plus update the project’s master schedule on a monthly basis.

» Plan aspects such as integrating the city’s bus system with rail, help model travel demand and ensure the rail project’s environmental compliance.

» Provide design-review support to rail officials for the project’s elevated track, stations, maintenance facility, drainage, landscape and other features.

» Assist in what’s described as "interface" across different components of the project.

Parsons and CH2M were two of three firms that bid for the new contract, according to HART spokeswoman Jeanne Mariani-Belding.

HART evaluated the bidders based on their experience and professional qualifications, their past performance on similar projects and their capacity to complete the work in the required time.

HART is expected to eventually award additional contracts that provide support of the project’s core systems (the train’s operations), safety and security oversight, and construction engineering and inspection.

Englewood, Colo.-based CH2M Hill is a global consulting firm with 28,000 employees.

The company’s Honolulu office on Bishop Street has 50 employees, according to HART.

Officials hope to have the first driverless trains of the $5.26 billion project running in 2017, from East Kapolei to Aloha Stadium.