...contract�also a Skanska/Schiavone/Shea joint venture�will begin this summer. The $583-million Manhattan tunnel contract will begin in early 2011, according to officials. A third contract, estimated at $500 million, to dig the connecting tunnels under the river has not yet been awarded.

An ARC project official says five prequalified teams for the Hudson contract are set to submit technical proposals this month and if still in the running, will submit bids in the fall. Contract award is set for November, he says.

Several of the city’s high-profile underground projects have completed tunneling, at least for the time being, or do not require a tunnel-boring machine.

The Skanska/Schiavone/Shea joint venture finished the Manhattan leg of the New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection’s City Water Tunnel No. 3 this May. A joint venture of Schiavone, Frontier-Kemper, Dragados and Lawrence, N.Y.-based John P. Picone is working on the $176-million shaft work, piping, valve and control contract.

Work continues on the Port Authority’s $3.2-billion World Trade Center transportation hub, which will connect rail lines between New Jersey and New York City’s subway system. Tishman/Turner, a joint venture of Tishman Corp. and Turner Construction Co., both New York City, is providing construction-management support services.

Under a $338.8-million contract, New York’s DCM Erectors is fabricating and erecting the structural steel to bring the transportation hub to grade.

A joint venture of Skanska Civil, New York City-based Skanska USA Building and Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Granite Construction Northeast received a $542-million contract for construction of four rail platforms as well as the installation of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, plumbing work, fire protection, and architectural finishes.

Tutor Perini is working on underpinning the No. 1 line underpass, a hub-critical $177.6-million project, says Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman.

While contractors agree all the underground work is good for business, it has its share of challenges. The manpower required for such large-scale projects has made it difficult to find skilled workers with experience working underground.

“Skilled craft, engineering and supervision are by far our greatest challenge,” Almeraris says. “The talent pool is not endless, and we have been forced to look nationwide for personnel resources. The out-of-town workers required us to develop extensive training programs. The learning curve has been especially long in the underground business.”