Tutor-Saliba Gets Tentative Nod for Alameda Project

Without public discussion, the board of the government agency overseeing the $2-billion Alameda Corridor project tentatively selected a venture headed by Tutor-Saliba Corp. to build the most critical part of the undertaking--a 10-mile stretch of below-ground-level railway between the county’s ports and freight yards in downtown Los Angeles.

Tutor-Saliba, a Sylmar-based construction industry giant, has successfully handled a number of major public works projects in the county and state. Its record has been marred, however, by serious construction problems encountered while working on Los Angeles’ subway system.

Among other things, the company has been cited repeatedly for inflated expenses, worker safety violations and building tunnel walls out of alignment or thinner than specified.

Last year, state officials repeatedly cited Tutor-Saliba-Perini, a contracting team the company formed with another firm, for serious safety violations that led to the deaths of two construction workers--the first fatalities in Metro Rail history.

Ron Tutor, the company’s president, said Thursday that he does not expect to encounter the same type of controversies if his consortium is ultimately selected by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority to build the trench section.

“We think the . . . project is exciting. It is far different than MTA,” Tutor said. “It’s an open-cut excavation, not a tunnel. You don’t have the difficulties and the politics of MTA. We are looking forward to it.”

The corridor authority board unanimously selected the Tutor-Saliba team from a field of three bidders that included Bechtel Infrastructure Corp. and Kiewit Pacific Co.

“This is a very important day and a milestone for the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority,” said Gill V. Hicks, general manager of the project. “We have worked a year to get to this point, and we have kept on schedule.”

A review of the proposals by corridor authority staff and consultants indicated that the Tutor-Saliba team’s bid contains the lowest ultimate cost for the trench section of the project. The bid was not made public Thursday.

The authority’s decision, in effect, gives Tutor-Saliba first crack at getting the final contract to build the trench section, whose estimated price is $500 million to $800 million.

In the days ahead, the authority and the Tutor consortium of at least five contractors will begin discussing possible changes and trying to resolve whatever differences they have.

If those talks do not produce an agreement, the corridor authority will proceed down the list of remaining bidders starting with Bechtel and, if necessary, moving on to Kiewit Pacific. The final selection is scheduled to be announced in September.

“We are very excited and pleased by our selection,” Tutor said. “We are just going to respond to whatever [the authority’s] requests are.”

Construction of the trench section is the largest and most expensive phase of a 20-mile rail expressway that will better link the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles with intercontinental freight yards in downtown Los Angeles.

Half the route along Alameda Street will be inside a concrete-lined trench that is three stories deep and about 50 feet wide. Overpasses for traffic will be built over the sunken railway.

Tutor-Saliba has successfully handled many large construction projects such as the Hyperion Water Treatment Plant in Los Angeles County and renovation of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

But the company also has been associated with some of the worst mishaps encountered by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in its attempt to build the Metro Rail subway system.

The corridor authority’s officials say they hope to avoid some of the MTA’s problems by using a design-build process, in which the main contractors are responsible for both the trench design and construction.

They say the contractor also must share the financial risk with the corridor authority for any unexpected problems that result in design changes along the way. The contractor will be responsible for the first $10 million in additional costs, while the authority will assume the next $10 million. After that, the financial burden will be shared equally.

As an incentive to keep the effort on schedule, authority officials say they will require the contractor to pay damages of $125,000 to $200,000 for every day the project is delayed beyond its completion date.

“This bid will be negotiated, and everyone is conscious of the issues with Tutor-Saliba,” said county Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, who serves on the corridor authority’s board. “Every effort will be made to reduce problems with this contract, not only for this company, but for any company selected.”

Burke said there was no public discussion about the board’s selection because city law requires the agency to authorize negotiations with bidders who submit proposals with the lowest ultimate cost.