Ben Heckscher over at The Launch Box has up an interesting bit on Contract C-26008 today. For those unfamiliar with the number, that’s contract 5B for the Second Ave. Sagas for work on the 86th Street station cavern. According to Heckscher, the bid results were recently made public, and the Skanska/Traylor joint venture is in the lead with a bid of $301,860,000.
Interestingly, as Heckscher notes, this bid is well below the amount the MTA expected to spend on the cavern and mining work around East 86th Street, and that low bid is in line with what Denise Richardson of the General Contractors Associate said at the Museum of the City of New York a few weeks ago. Because these contractors are itching to keep their workers employed and their machines running, now is a good time to submit contracts for bids. Companies are willing to operate efficiently if it means more work. As the MTA’s capital budget comes due for more money, I hope Albany is paying attention.
Meanwhile, the 86th St. contract will be an interesting one to watch because the litigation over the station entrances could pay a role yet. As Heckscher writes, it isn’t clear how the lawsuit will impact this work, but for now, the cavern work can proceed apace. Not until demolition work and entrance scoping begins does the above-ground machinations affect the construction below.
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Also of important note from that piece on The Launch Box is that the MTA expects mining of the second TBM run to begin at the end of this month!
Frankly, I don’t believe Skanska can hold to that bid. Until the parts about its cost overruns and bribery charges get resolved, it shouldn’t even be qualified to bid.
That’s good news!
Every new step in the process makes it a little less possible that this project will meet the same fate as the tunnels that they dug in the 1970’s.
I intended the above post to be a reply to JOSH’S message.