Following a publicly advertised bidding process, proposals were reviewed by an evaluation panel comprising technical experts and representatives from GDC, the state of New York, New Jersey Transit, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANY/NJ), and Amtrak, GDC reported. Frontier-Kemper-Tutor-Perini JV, it said, was selected through a competitive evaluation of technical and price proposals.
The GDC Board of Commissioners also approved a Memorandum of Understanding to the Project Labor Agreement previously approved by the Board with the unions that will be working on the project.
The Manhattan Tunnel Project is part of the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project (see map below), which is one of several Gateway Program projects to upgrade and increase capacity on the New Jersey-to-New York portion of the Northeast Corridor, the most heavily used passenger rail line in the U.S., hosting more than 2,200 train movements and 800,000 passenger trips daily.
The Manhattan Tunnel Project (see project route and cross section, top) will build the section of the new Hudson Tunnel Project tubes from the Manhattan Bulkhead in the Hudson River to the cut-and-cover Hudson Yards Concrete Casing east of 12th Avenue.
In total, the Manhattan Tunnel Project will require designing and building approximately 700 feet of twin 30-foot diameter tunnels. The portion to the east of 12th Avenue will be permanent. The portion between the Manhattan Bulkhead and 12th Avenue will be a temporary tunnel shell with the primary purpose of clearing the pathway for the future final tunnel to be installed by tunnel boring machines. The project also includes designing and building an access shaft at 12th Avenue that will ultimately be converted into a permanent ventilation facility for the new tunnel.
According to GDC, the Manhattan Tunnel Project will remove obstructions that could slow or damage the tunnel boring machines digging the portion of the tunnel passing under the Bulkhead and into Manhattan and will protect and support existing features, including the Bulkhead and sewer lines.
“Due to the presence of historic fill along Manhattan’s western shore, obstructions could range from archeological findings to concrete slabs and debris,” said GDC. “The project will also clear pile foundations remaining from both the West Side Highway that collapsed in 1973 and existing sewer utilities.”
To provide the flexibility needed to navigate these obstacles, GDC said, Frontier-Kemper-Tutor-Perini JV has proposed excavating the tunnel using a protective digging shield.
These methods would enable the majority of construction to take place underground, which would improve safety and significantly reduce the impacts of construction on surface roads and sidewalks, according to GDC.
In addition to the items related to the Manhattan Tunnel Project contract, the Board of Commissioners approved “the creation of a stipend program to support the New Jersey Surface Alignment (NJSA) Project procurement process,” GDC reported. “This program will provide a stipend for work product to teams that submit bids for the NJSA Project but do not win the contract. Given the complexity of the NJSA Project, this stipend program is necessary to enable teams to invest the resources needed to prepare an innovative, price-certain responsive bid.”
GDC said it will retain rights to the intellectual property, ideas, techniques, concepts, and approaches contained in all proposals from teams that receive stipends, and any other relevant work product that they create as part of the procurement process.
“I am proud to begin my tenure as CEO of GDC by awarding this contract to a highly qualified team that I am confident will successfully deliver this vital aspect of the Hudson Tunnel Project,” said Tom Prendergast, who was named GDC CEO in January. “The Manhattan Tunnel Project is one of the most technically complex pieces of the Hudson Tunnel Project. Building anything underground in Manhattan requires careful planning and expert execution, as I know from overseeing multiple subway expansion projects. I look forward to working together with the Frontier-Kemper-Tutor-Perini team, as well as GDC’s partners on Manhattan’s West Side, to complete this critical component of this vital infrastructure project.”
“The Manhattan Tunnel Project contract is an important step forward for the Hudson Tunnel Project [HTP] that keeps us on pace to deliver the most urgent infrastructure project in the country,” said Alicia Glen, New York GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair; Balpreet Grewal-Virk, New Jersey GDC Commissioner and Co-Chair; and Tony Coscia, GDC Amtrak Commissioner and Vice Chair. “Even more important, it is a major win for workers. In the months and years ahead, this project will create thousands of good jobs and drive millions in economic activity. These workers will join the more than 7,500 construction workers who are already building other HTP projects. These men and women are working hard to deliver for us, and it is important that we keep this project moving forward for them.”
According to a preliminary estimate by EY, construction of the Manhattan Tunnel Project will create 15,800 new jobs, GDC reported.
