Award: Tunnel rail connection
Value: $711.7 million
Location: North Bergen and Secaucus, New Jersey
Client: Gateway Development Commission
The Gateway Development Commission tapped a joint venture to advance the Hudson Tunnel Project closer to full construction buildout during a Monday agency board meeting.
The commission awarded a Skanska Creamer Sanzari NJSA JV a $711.7 million contract for the New Jersey Surface Alignment project. The award marks the seventh of the Hudson Tunnel Project’s 10 construction packages to move into construction or completion, according to the GDC.
The design-build package will construct about 7,540 feet of new infrastructure between Secaucus, New Jersey, and the future tunnel portal in North Bergen. The work will create the connection between the new Hudson River tunnel and the existing Northeast Corridor rail line in New Jersey.
“We are firing on all cylinders at our construction sites in New York and New Jersey,” said GDC CEO Tom Prendergast in the news release. “Skanska Creamer Sanzari NJSA JV’s team has a proven track record and the expertise needed to get the job done, and we look forward to working with them to deliver this critical section of the Hudson Tunnel Project.”
The project includes about 4,170 feet of retaining walls and 3,150 feet of viaduct structures, according to the release. Crews will also build two bridges and relocate utilities, said Jim Starace, GDC chief of program delivery.
“Each of these has engineering and logistical challenges, and the construction of these bridges will be carefully planned to minimize impacts on traffic and to existing train service,” said Starace during Monday’s agency meeting. “The project will be constructed adjacent to active tracks, which will require coordination with Amtrak and New Jersey Transit to assure the appropriate railroad safety precautions.”
The Skanska Creamer Sanzari joint venture team won the contract after a two-step procurement process that began with six responding firms, said Anthony Gardner, GDC deputy chief administration officer for procurement. Four teams were shortlisted and two submitted final proposals.
“In addition to the contract award, we are seeking authorization to issue a notice to proceed, so that construction can begin as soon as possible,” said Gardner.
Hudson Tunnel Project progress
The seventh award occurred about a month after the GDC tapped a Traylor, Walsh and Skanska joint venture on the sixth construction package of the Hudson Tunnel Project.
That portion covers roughly 1.5 miles of twin tunnel boring under the Hudson River, the final tunneling segment beneath the river. The same joint venture team recently won a separate award for Phase II of the Second Avenue Subway Project in New York City as well.
The Tonnelle Avenue bridge, meanwhile, recently reached completion and opened to traffic, said Starace. On the Palisades Tunnel Project, one of the seven construction packages underway, crews are preparing two tunnel boring machines for assembly, he added.
In Manhattan, the tunnel project has reached about 25% to 30% completion, with slurry wall construction close to completion and ground stabilization activity underway, said Starace. Elsewhere, the Hudson Yards concrete casing project stands about 75% complete, he said.
