Construction company Tutor Perini Corp. on Wednesday announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Lunda Construction, will enter a joint venture with C.S. McCrossan on a contract valued at $799.5 million by the Metropolitan Council for the Southwest Light Rail Transit project in Minneapolis.

This major regional transportation project, according to a company statement, constitutes the largest public infrastructure project in Minnesota’s history. It consists of a 14.5-mile extension of the Metro Green Line and involves construction of new light rail infrastructure, including 44 bridges, two cut-and-cover tunnels and 16 new light rail stations.

“We are excited to be working with the Metropolitan Council on this significant project, which will bring substantial enduring benefits to the region’s economy,” said Lunda Construction President and Chief Executive Dennis Behnke.

Work will commence next month with major construction ramping up in the spring. The Lunda-McCrossan joint venture is currently discussing the construction schedule with the Metropolitan Council to determine a substantial completion date, based on the impacts that a later-than-anticipated contract award might have on various portions of the project. When the project was originally bid in May 2018, the contract duration was 42 months. The contract value will be included in the company’s fourth-quarter 2018 backlog.

With 10,000 employees and $4.76 billion in revenue last year, Tutor Perini of Sylmar has undertaken such high-profile projects as L.A.’s $1.4 billion extension of the Purple Line (currently underway), a $1.4 billion portion of the California High-Speed rail line and the $783 million Alameda Corridor in Long Beach. The firm dates to 1894.

While stocks generally were down Friday, Tutor Perini Corp. (TPC) stock closed up 15 cents or less than 1 percent at $18.28 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Michael Aushenker is a reporter with sister publication San Fernando Valley Business Journal, where this story first appeared.