Prospective port tunnel builders submit bids

Prospective port tunnel builders submit bids The Miami port tunnel proposal has reached another key milestone with the final submission of bids from potential developers of the project.
   The Florida Department of Transportation, which is the lead agency on the project, said Monday it has received bids from the three consortia of international companies that were selected last year. The FDOT has detailed requirements for submitting bids and the three finalists for the project have spent months preparing the bids.
   The FDOT said a contract is expected to be awarded in May. Working estimates used by the FDOT in preparing financing plans have put the cost at $1.2 billion. That money will come from a combination of state, county and city sources.
   The three teams submitting bids are:
   * The Miami Access Tunnel team, comprising French tunneling specialist Bouygues Travaux Publics S.A. and its Canada-based financing partner Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group US.
   * The Miami Mobility Group, which includes the construction companies ACS Infrastructure/Dragados of Spain, Odebrecht Construction of Brazil and U.S.-based Parsons Transportation Group.
   * FCC Construction/Morgan Stanley, which is Spain-based FCC Construction and its financing partner Morgan Stanley, the U.S.-based investment bank.
   The port tunnel would run under Biscayne Bay between the port and Watson Island, the island where Interstate 395 ends and becomes the MacArthur Causeway. The causeway runs parallel to the port and between Miami and Miami Beach. It would allow trucks direct access to the Interstate highway system and end the need to pass through several blocks in downtown Miami to reach the highway.