{"id":29848,"date":"2025-04-05T15:19:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T22:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/californias-gold-line-rejects-kiewits-final-bid\/"},"modified":"2025-04-05T15:19:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T22:19:05","slug":"californias-gold-line-rejects-kiewits-final-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/californias-gold-line-rejects-kiewits-final-bid\/","title":{"rendered":"California\u2019s Gold Line rejects Kiewit\u2019s final bid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><\/p>\n<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/images\/audio_icon.svg?482016190122\" alt=\"-\"><\/p>\n<p>        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">4 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dmgi9movl\/video\/upload\/q_1\/v1743776856\/news\/text_to_speech\/light-rail-rejects-kiewit-bid-california_mc4elr.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Dive Brief:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>A $798 million, 3.2-mile Southern California light-rail project is going back to the drawing board after a lone bid from Omaha, Nebraska-based Kiewit came in \u201chundreds of millions of dollars\u201d higher than expected.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority, which is overseeing the project to extend LA Metro\u2019s A line into Southern California\u2019s Inland Empire, said in a March 26 news release that it was <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/foothillgoldline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2025-03-26-FINAL-Agency-Statement-DB-Procurement-Cancelled.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>canceling its current design-build procurement<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> efforts to pursue a new plan.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cDespite numerous efforts by the Construction Authority to collaborate, including making dozens of contract changes requested by Kiewit to reduce costs, Kiewit\u2019s final bid remained hundreds of millions of dollars above expert estimates and available funding,\u201d FGLCA said in the release. \u201cAs a result, it\u2019s both impossible and inappropriate to move forward with their bid.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Dive Insight:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Kiewit\u2019s $994 million bid <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailybulletin.com\/2025\/03\/26\/due-to-cost-bid-canceled-to-extend-a-gold-line-light-rail-to-claremont-montclair\/?share=tttaymlhhoeadioetltd\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>ran $350 million over<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> the authority\u2019s most conservative estimate for design and construction work, according to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. In a statement provided to Construction Dive, Kiewit said inflation had driven the increases, but also noted it was the sole bidder on the project.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cAppreciating there is a reason we were the sole bidder as part of this most recent design-build contract, we worked transparently with the Authority to discuss construction, supply chain and subcontractor\/vendor costs, and identify cost-savings opportunities,\u201d the company said in the statement. \u201cThis included comparing data with one of the Authority\u2019s third-party estimators during the process as costs increased due to inflationary issues.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Prior to making its decision, the authority had called on Ken Simonson, chief economist of the Associated General Contractors of America, for his views on the current construction environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Authority CEO Habib Balian described the meeting as \u201csobering,\u201d according to the Daily Bulletin, as Simonson highlighted the impacts of President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs driving up material costs and the administration\u2019s immigration policies putting upward pressure on construction wages.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>After <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/trump-tariffs-construction-risk-liberation-day\/744334\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Trump\u2019s sweeping \u201cLiberation Day\u201d tariffs<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> put new construction projects at risk and sent stock markets plunging on Thursday, Simonson said he expected those factors to keep influencing contractors\u2019 estimates going forward.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThe uncertainty and all the increases have led contractors to either pull back from bidding or to put in higher bids to cover the risk that they&#8217;re going to face, the even-higher costs, when they actually go to buy that material,\u201d Simonson said.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>He said light-rail projects may be particularly at risk, given 25% tariffs on steel.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cLight rail \u2014 the name practically tells you \u2014 they use a lot of steel,\u201d Simonson said. \u201cAnd a lot of copper.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The section from Pomona to Montclair is part of <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/la.urbanize.city\/post\/15b-foothill-gold-line-extension-reaches-substantial-completion\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>the larger, $1.5 billion Foothill Gold Line extension<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, which covers 9.1 miles of new track and four new stops.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>A <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/kiewit-parsons-jv-wins-806m-los-angeles-gold-line-light-rail-contract\/561076\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>joint venture of Kiewit and Chantilly, Virginia-based Parsons<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> won that contract in 2019, then at a price of $805.6 million. The projects\u2019 intent is to ease commuting and vehicle trips between the more affordable communities of California\u2019s Inland Empire and jobs in Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In its release about the rejected bid, the authority said it will continue to pursue options for the final portion of the project. It plans to issue a new request for proposals in June under a construction manager at risk delivery framework, which would split out the design and build portions of the project.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThe board believes this is the best approach to put available dollars to their best use and prioritize efficient construction,\u201d the authority\u2019s statement said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/light-rail-rejects-kiewit-bid-california\/744452\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive &#8230; <a title=\"California\u2019s Gold Line rejects Kiewit\u2019s final bid\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/californias-gold-line-rejects-kiewits-final-bid\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about California\u2019s Gold Line rejects Kiewit\u2019s final bid\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}