San Francisco Third St Light Rail

Tutor Perini has won an $840m contract to carry out the second phase of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) Third Street light rail project, including central subway stations, surface, track and systems.

Under the deal, Tutor Perini will build three underground subway stations at Union Square / Market Street, Chinatown and Yerba Buena Gardens / Moscone Center.

The deal also includes the construction of a surface-level station at 4th and Brannan Streets, as well as track work and systems from the 4th and Brannan Station to Chinatown.

The company’s initial work on the project has already started, and the construction is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2018.

Tutor Perini’s Civil Group will manage the project, while many of the company’s civil and specialist subsidiaries, including Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Becho, Desert Mechanical, Fisk Electric and Superior Gunite, will also be involved in the project.

"Tutor Perini will build three underground subway stations at Union Square / Market Street, Chinatown and Yerba Buena Gardens / Moscone Center."

The $1.6bn project will add 1.7 miles to the Third Street light rail system, extending the Muni light rail service from the 4th Street Caltrain Station to Chinatown.

Following completion, the project is expected to offer better commuting options between the Financial District and Union Square, while connecting Chinatown with the existing Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) rail service, Caltrain and other transport options.

The 5.2-mile first phase of the Third Street project started operations in 2007, running between Sunnydale Station in Bayshore and SoMa’s 4th Street Caltrain Station.

In October 2012, the US FTA provided $942.2m to extend the Third Street light rail system to the Chinatown area, under which 1.7 miles of track were added to the rail system, extending the Muni light rail service from the 4th Street Caltrain Station to Chinatown.

The extension project included the construction of four new stations, three of which will be underground.


Image: The second phase of the Third Street light rail project will see Tutor Perini build three underground subway stations and a surface-level station. Photo: courtesy of Octoferret.