Joint Venture Nabs $403M MBTA South Coast Rail Contract

Work to bring commuter rail service to New Bedford and other communities well south of Boston cleared another major hurdle Monday when the MBTA agreed on a nearly $404 million contract rounding out the South Coast Rail project's first phase.

The Fiscal and Management Control Board awarded a $403.5 million contract to SCR Constructors to construct signal and communications systems for Phase 1, build the New Bedford Main Line and upgrade the Middleborough Secondary Line.

SCR Constructors is a joint venture of The Middlesex Corporation and Tutor Perini.

It's the second major contract — and the largest — in the opening stage of the long-in-the-works $1.1 billion South Coast Rail project, designed to extend commuter rail service to Fall River, New Bedford and surrounding towns.

The latest contract will involve construction of four stations: one in downtown New Bedford, a second in the city's northern end on Church Street, plus stations in East Taunton and Middleborough, along 24.1 miles of track.

MBTA officials reported receiving three bids. The other two clocked in higher than the proposal they selected, with Barletta and O&G Industries bidding $426 million and Skanska and D.W. White Construction bidding $469 million.

Two other stations, one each in Freetown and Fall River, are part of a nearly $159 million contract the FMCB awarded to Skanska and D.W. White Construction in May.

Construction on both Phase 1 contracts should begin this year, and passenger service is projected to start by late 2023 under the current schedule.