ACTA Issues Contract for 10-mile Mid-Corridor Trench, Commencing Major Construction
OCTOBER 14, 1998
The Los Angeles-Long Beach joint power public agency building the Alameda Corridor rail cargo expressway has issued a notice of intent to award a $712 million contract for design and construction of a 10-mile-long trench, the project’s biggest and most critical element.
The Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) concluded six weeks of contract negotiations on the Mid-Corridor Design-Build Contract with Tutor-Saliba, a Sylmar-based construction and engineering firm with extensive experience with large public works projects.
The Tutor-Saliba team was one of three that submitted proposals for the contract on July 1, 1998. An exhaustive review by independent ACTA panels concluded that Tutor-Saliba proposal had the initial lowest ultimate cost — based on bid prices of $731 million by Tutor-Saliba, and $760 million by Bechtel Infrastructure Corp. and $783 million by Kiewit Pacific Co. Based on that review, the Governing Board on Aug. 13 authorized staff to begin contract negotiations with Tutor-Saliba. Those talks resulted in a proposed contract worth $712 million.
The ACTA Governing Board is scheduled to consider approval of the contract at its regularly scheduled meeting of Thursday, Oct. 8. The meeting is set for 9 a.m. in the board room at the Port of Long Beach offices, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach.
“The notice of intent is an important step in presenting the board with a contract for final approval,” said ACTA Chief Executive Officer Jim Hankla.
ACTA is building a 20-mile-long railroad freight expressway linking the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the transcontinental rail yards just east of downtown Los Angeles. The project will speed the shipment of cargo by consolidating rail lines and improve the flow of rail and vehicle traffic by eliminating numerous street-level railroad crossings.
The Mid-Corridor Design-Build Contract calls for the construction of a 30-foot-deep trench running about 10 miles along Alameda Street between State Route 91 in Compton to 25th Street in Los Angeles. Bridges will be constructed to carry street traffic over the trench at 29 crossings.
Tutor-Saliba, the single largest construction employer in Southern California, was recently awarded a design-build contract in excess of $500 million for the extension of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) commuter train line to San Francisco International Airport. The firm also has contracts worth about $800 million for expansion of the airport.
Among other projects, Tutor-Saliba managed the recent $189 million renovation of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and arena under a design-build contract and a $105 million tunnel project in San Francisco. Members of the Tutor-Saliba team include O&G Industries, Inc., HNTB Design-Build, Inc., and Parsons Transportation Group, which served as general design consultant for the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor in Orange County, California. HNTB supervised work on the Interstate 90 completion and reconstruction in Washington state.
A design-build contract differs from a traditional public works contract in that the contractor is responsible for both designing and building the project. This has the advantage of allowing several steps to proceed concurrently, thereby saving time and money.