Tutor Perini/O&G JV lands LACMTA Purple Line contract

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) has awarded a $1.37 billion contract to Tutor Perini/O&G Joint Venture to construct phase two of the Purple Line Extension Project.

The extension will expand service to Century City, adding 2.6 miles to the Purple Line with a station in the Century City central business district and another at Wilshire/Rodeo in downtown Beverly Hills. LACMTA has set a budget of $2.4 billion. The extension is scheduled for completion by or before 2026, as outlined in an FFGA (Full Funding Grant Agreement) with the Federal Transit Administration. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced $1.6 billion in federal funding in early January.

LACMTA says the joint venture’s proposal was about $500 million less than competing offers. The agency previously recommended Tutor Perini/O&G for phase two on Jan. 17. LACMTA says it carried out an extensive competitive bidding process that deemed the Tutor Perini/O&G proposal as the best offer overall due to its technical, project management and cost aspects. “All three proposals submitted were comparable on their technical merits, but the Tutor Perini team had the best value proposal,” the agency said.

The award to Tutor Perini ”brings us one step closer to fulfilling our promise to bring fast, reliable, high-capacity subway service to the Westside,” said LACMTA Board Chair and Duarte City Council Member John Fasana. “We now have the funding in place and the contractor on board to expedite delivery of this high-priority, regionally beneficial transit project for Los Angeles County.”

“This team has a recent history of delivering successful tunneling projects across the globe,” said Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington. “Metro is confident this contractor will play a critical role in helping us build the world-class public transportation system we have promised to voters.”

LACMTA says it plans to provide strong oversight to enable the project’s timely and cost-effective delivery, which officials say will entail “executive partnering” between the transportation authority and the contractor “up to the CEO level” to address project modifications and claims.

The Tutor Perini/O&G team and its subcontractors have previously completed major tunnel projects for the SFMTA Muni Metro Central Subway project in San Francisco, the Sound Transit Link light rail University Link in Seattle and the New York MTA Long Island Rail Road East Side Access project, in addition to helping build the World Trade Center Greenwich Street Corridor for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Tutor Perini also participated in the construction of LACMTA’s original Red Line, building its second and third sections and completing the latter six months earlier than expected, within budget.