Recommendation on bullet train contract expected Friday

The California bullet train agency on Friday is expected to announce its formal recommendation of a team led by Sylmar-based Tutor Perini as the contractor for the first phase of the project, according to an official notice. The action is a key step toward a groundbreaking on the $68-billion rail system.

The company was earlier identified as having the “apparent best value” among five consortiums bidding for the job and was widely expected to get the contract.

The official award must be approved by the full board of the agency, the California High Speed Rail Authority, which is scheduled to occur in June. Friday’s announcement opens a five-day window to allow bid protests by four losing teams. Officials close to the project say that at least two of the teams have no intent to protest the award.

Tutor Perini’s team includes San Antonio-based Zachry Construction and Pasadena-based Parsons Corp. The team submitted a bid for $985 million, more than $100 million less than the next closest bidder and about $500 million below the highest bidder. But Tutor also had the lowest technical scores in the competition. Under the scoring system that awarded Tutor the job, 70% of the decision was based on price and 30% on technical merit.

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