LACMTA recommends Tutor Perini JV for second phase of Purple Line construction

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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LACMTA

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) has recommended Tutor Perini/O&G, a joint venture to build the second segment of the Purple Line Extension.

The second section of the project will extend the Purple Line subway to Century City. The project has secured $1.6 billion in federal funding and the joint venture’s proposal of $1.377 billion is approximately $500 million lower than competing bids.

The project involves construction of a 2.6-mile extension of the subway through Beverly Hills to Century City, including two new underground stations at Wilshire/Rodeo and Constellation/Avenue of the Stars. The subway extension will provide a high-capacity, high-speed, dependable transit alternative for those traveling to and from Los Angeles’ Westside.

Tutor Perini would serve as the lead partner on its joint-venture team with O&G Industries. O&G specializes in large, heavy civil construction projects and has worked with Tutor Perini on numerous occasions over the past 20 years, including on the Alameda Corridor rail cargo expressway project in Los Angeles and on several major highway construction projects in the northeastern U.S.

LACMTA said it made its recommendation after a thorough and extensive competitive bidding process. The authority also believes the recommendation is expected to keep the Purple Line Extension on schedule and on budget. Completion of the second subway section is anticipated no later than 2026 per a funding agreement with the Federal Transit Administration and LACMTA is aiming to possibly finish the project at an earlier date.

The first section of the Purple Line Extension is currently being built between the current subway terminus at Wilshire/Western and Wilshire/La Cienega with three new stations. The second section will add another 2.6 miles to the project with one station at Wilshire/Rodeo in downtown Beverly Hills and a station in the heart of Century City. A third and final section will extend the subway to the Westwood/VA Hospital. Construction of this last section is planned to begin as early as 2019.

“We can and must redefine our relationships with the contracting community to build Los Angeles County’s transportation future,” said LACMTA CEO Phillip A. Washington. “With their modern history of delivering successful tunneling projects throughout the world, [LACMTA] is confident that this contractor will play a critical role in helping us build the world-class public transportation system we have promised to voters.”

Tutor Perini expects the contract to be awarded at the end of January 2017, with notice to proceed in March 2017. Substantial completion is anticipated in January 2025. Tutor Perini’s portion of the contract value is expected to be included as part of the company’s reported first quarter 2017 backlog.

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