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Construction Dive’s Friday Punch List is a series dedicated to sharing the top building headlines that contractors may have missed during the week.
In construction news this week, major contractors won big awards for building infrastructure in America’s biggest cities. A joint venture of Skanska, Traylor Bros and Walsh Construction earned $1.02 billion subway extension in New York Cityand a Kiewit partnership Stacey Witbeck Herzog secured a $3.5 billion deal to establish the first section of the California High Speed Rail line
Read on below for other news from the past week that builders should know.
California High Speed Rail Advances Private Partnership
Beyond California’s $3.5 billion high-speed rail contract to lay tracks for the beleaguered initiative, another development received less attention.
The project is now too prioritize public-private collaborationaccording to USA Today. State High Speed Rail Authority started woo private investors in December to keep the project on track in the face of costs that have ballooned from the original estimate of $45 billion to the current $231 billion.
On Monday, the authority advanced plans to work with Momentum Alliance Partners, USA Today reported. Consortium team members Dallas-based contractor Jacobs, Spanish engineering firm Sener and London-based urban mobility planner Steer are in a May 11 filing.
The agreement to move forward with the partnership is expected to be finalized by the end of May, according to the newspaper, and would bring private money and international expertise to the project. Private stakeholders would invest their own money and be paid back over time through system revenues such as ticket sales and public funding.
—Joe Bousquin
Turner completes $557 million construction at UC Berkeley
Turner Construction marked a new milestone in the creation of artificial intelligence, although not with another data center.
The New York City-based contractor highlighted this week the upcoming debut of the Barbara and Gerson Bakar Gateway building of the University of California, Berkeley. The The project cost $557 millionaccording to The Daily Californian, the student newspaper.
The 367,270-square-foot building will house the Berkeley College of Computing, Data Science and Society, the first new college at California’s flagship public university in more than 50 years, according to a Monday Turner news release.
The facility, which began construction in 2022, includes research laboratories, classrooms, classrooms, seminar and conference rooms, offices, social kitchens, a cafeteria and a rooftop event space. It will support more than 1,300 faculty, students and researchers studying the intersection of AI, machine learning, data science, climate science and health, according to the release.
Working with design partners Weiss/Manfredi and Gensler, the project team made modifications to the original designs to meet evolving codes while executing complex millwork within the bends and curved architectural forms of the building.
Faculty and staff will move into the building this summer, with the first classes scheduled for next fall semester, according to the release.
—Joe Bousquin
7 companies win contracts for $300 million NASA campus upgrade
NASA has given out awards for $300 million upgrade effort at its main center in Houston.
The space agency tapped seven companies to provide construction, revitalization and infrastructure services at the Johnson Space Center, according to a May 29 news release. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity award supports essential facility projects for astronaut crew training and engineering development, according to the release.
The seven contract awardees are Coho Construction Management, Conti Federal Services, Healtheon, HITT Contracting, Ross Group Construction Corp., Energy EPC Solutions and Sauer Construction.
All funds must be obligated by September 30, 2026.
— Sebastian Obando
Trimble launches cross-country documentation initiative
This summer, Trimble is hitting the open road to document how its customers use the company’s technology.
The Westminster, Colo.-based tech giant has it launched its “Everywhere” initiative.which will demonstrate how customers are using its geospatial, construction and transportation technology in their businesses through a series of videos and social media posts, according to Monday’s announcement.
Traveling in a custom-branded Airstream trailer, the tour will stop at construction projects, infrastructure landmarks, stadiums, and high-profile venues and events. The first video episode, to be released this summer, will focus on a mission to re-measure Mount Elbert and East Crestone in Colorado.
Other episodes will include major infrastructure works and stadium construction. The road trip will conclude at Trimble Dimensions conference this November in las vegas
—Matthew Thibault
