HONOLULU — The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation has awarded a $1.66 billion contract to design and build the next segment of the Honolulu rail transit project to Tutor Perini Corporation. 

What You Need To Know

  • The City Center Guideway and Stations contract includes design and construction of six rail stations and about three miles of elevated rail guideway just east of the Middle Street Transit Center Station to the Civic Center Station, which will be located to the east of the intersection of Halekauwila Street and South Street
  • Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in the second half of 2025 and extend through 2030
  • The award of the CCGS contract will trigger the release of the next $250 million in federal funding to HART under the amended Full Funding Grant Agreement, which was executed Feb. 2, 2024
  • Before merging with Perini Corporation in 2008, Tutor-Saliba Corporation drew criticism for allegedly low-balling to secure contracts then incurring significant cost overruns

The contract is expected to be executed in mid-September. 

The City Center Guideway and Stations contract includes design and construction of six rail stations and about three miles of elevated rail guideway just east of the Middle Street Transit Center Station to the Civic Center Station, which will be located to the east of the intersection of Halekauwila Street and South Street. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in the second half of 2025 and extend through 2030.

“This is another huge milestone for our rail project,” said HART executive director and CEO Lori Kahikina. “This is the largest single contract of the entire project and sets the course for completing the project through downtown Honolulu. We are excited to begin work with Tutor Perini to make this happen.”

Los Angeles-based Tutor Perini Corporation is a leading civil, building and specialty construction company.

According to HART, the company “has established a strong reputation of executing large, complex projects on time and within budget while adhering to strict quality control measures.”

“Tutor Perini is proud and excited to be a part of this transformational project in Honolulu,” said Tutor Perini chair and CEO Ronald Tutor. “We look forward to partnering with HART to see this project through to its successful conclusion.”

The award of the CCGS contract will trigger the release of the next $250 million in federal funding to HART under the amended Full Funding Grant Agreement, which was executed Feb. 2, 2024. The original FFGA, signed in 2012, provided a grant of $1.55 billion for the Honolulu rail project. HART has previously received approximately $931 million dollars under this grant.

Tutor Perini has previously been contracted for work projects, including the California High-Speed Rail; Harry Reid International Airport Terminal 3; the Purple Line Extension Project (Sections 1 and 2); Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center; BART San Francisco Airport Extension; and the Caesar’s Palace and Hotel and Casino’s Palace Tower.

Before merging with Perini Corporation in 2008, Tutor-Saliba Corporation drew criticism for allegedly low-balling to secure contracts, then incurring significant cost overruns. According to a review by the Bay Citizen, 11 major Bay Area projects completed by the construction company between 2000 and 2012 cost $765 million more than expected, 40% above the initial bids.

In 2018, Tutor-Perini was ordered by the San Francisco Mass Transit Authority to remove more than three miles of rail it had installed for the Central Subway because the company used a cheaper, less-durable material than had been agreed upon in its contract.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.