A joint venture of Sylmar-based civil construction firm Tutor Perini Corp. and its subsidiary Frontier-Kemper Constructors has won a $1.18 billion contract to construct a pair of rail tunnels under Manhattan to replace structures built in the early 1900s that were damaged in Superstorm Sandy.

The contract is part of the approximately $16 billion Hudson River Tunnel Project administered by the Gateway Development Commission joint powers authority. That project aims to modernize and expand capacity along  a 10-mile stretch of the 457-mile Northeast rail corridor that connects Washington D.C. and Boston. The Northeast Corridor is the most heavily used rail line in the nation, with more than 2,000 intercity and commuter trains moving an average of 800,000 passengers a day.

The stretch that the Tutor Perini joint venture is responsible for is called the Manhattan Tunnel Project. The project centers on building about 700 feet of twin 30-foot-diameter rail tunnels between the Hudson River and the Hudson Yards section of Manhattan. The original tunnels were completed in 1910.

Tutor Perini and Frontier-Kemper crews will also take steps to protect existing sewer lines and utilities to ensure they are not disrupted by tunnel boring.

Protecting against floods

Another task involves reinforcing the Manhattan bulkhead to protect against flooding – a crucial element considering the extensive flood damage caused by the 2012 Sandy superstorm. And the project calls for the building of an access shaft that will initially be used to remove the tunnel boring machines and upon project completion be used as a permanent ventilation shaft.

Construction of this Manhattan Tunnel Project segment is expected to begin in the coming months, with substantial completion anticipated in 2029. The contract value is expected to be added to the company’s project backlog for the first quarter.

For Tutor Perini, this is the second major billion-dollar-plus tunnel contract in recent months in the New York area. In October, its Frontier-Kemper Constructors subsidiary won a $1.1 billion contract from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to build a 2-mile-long water conveyance tunnel in nearby Westchester County. That tunnel will convey water from a reservoir to an ultraviolet light disinfection facility.

This is also Tutor Perini’s first billion-dollar-plus contract award under the leadership of new Chief Executive Gary Smalley. He took over on Jan. 1 from longtime chief executive Ron Tutor, the son of the founder of the A.G. Tutor company that started out as a real estate firm and then became a major civil construction contractor. Tutor, who is in his 80s, served as chair and chief executive since 2008. He has agreed to serve as executive board chair through the end of next year.