This past Monday, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved Port of Long Beach staff’s recommendation that the best-value design-build proposal to replace the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge was submitted by the joint venture team of Shimmick Construction Company Inc., FCC Construction S.A. and Impregilo S.p.A. (SFI).
The Board authorized staff to issue a Notice of Intent to contract with SFI, who qualified as the best-value proposer by earning the highest technical score from the multi-agency Project Selection Committee and also submitting the lowest price proposal of $649.5 million.
The Board’s action Monday approved the committee’s scoring recommendations and directed Port staff to negotiate a final contract; a Board decision on the final contract is expected in early July. Final design will start soon after the contract is signed with a construction kickoff expected in early 2013.
The total cost of the overall bridge replacement project is estimated at about $1 billion, including site preparation, demolition, and other considerations.
Major participants in the joint venture include Shimmick Construction Company Inc., FCC Construction S.A., Impregilo S.p.A., Arup North America Ltd. and Biggs Cardosa Associates Inc.
The Project Selection Committee, led by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Port and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), formally opened the financial proposals on May 4, following a rigorous, months-long evaluation of the technical proposals received from three teams that had been pre-qualified to bid on the contract.
The bridge replacement — designed to ease traffic congestion and improve navigational safety — is being jointly procured by the Port and Caltrans. The Port, Caltrans, Metro and the U.S. Department of Transportation are all contributing funds to the project.