Port Authority board awards const. contract with Navillus Contracting

The Port Authority board of commissioners awarded the largest contract to date for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center, which will allow construction to move forward toward a phased completion beginning in 2010. To date, more than 70% of construction trade contracts for the project have been awarded or have received bids. The board approved a contract with Navillus Contracting Inc. to provide 36,000 cubic yards of concrete for construction of the Memorial & Museum, including the signature massive waterfalls set within the original footprints of the Twin Towers. The firm also will provide an additional 9,000 cubic yards of concrete for related below-grade infrastructure work, including the chiller plant and car parking areas. The board approved $103.9 million, which includes $90.5 million for Navillus and the remainder for Bovis Construction Management. Of the total, $40 million will be paid by the Port Authority and the remaining $63.9 million will be paid by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The design & construction committee of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum approved the contract. Last April, the Port Authority board approved a $58.9 million contract for structural steel for the memorial and museum. During the past year, extensive progress has been made on the Memorial & Museum. Approximately 94% of the footing-and-foundation contract for the project has been completed, including the placement of nearly 5,000 cubic yards of concrete. Work also is underway to build a new concrete slurry wall behind a section of the existing wall to allow it to be integrated into the Memorial Museum experience. In addition, 1,425 tons of structural steel has been fabricated at Owen Steel in Columbia, S.C., of which 150 tons have been delivered to the marshaling yard in Camden, N.J. The installation of the first pieces of steel is planned for this summer. A signature element of the Memorial Museum - the stair treads from a staircase that survived the collapse of the Twin Towers - was moved and will be installed in the subgrade of the Memorial.