http://www.phillyburbs.com"NJ Transit's board on Wednesday unanimously approved the first tunneling contract for an $8.7 billion rail tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan that is the nation's largest transportation project.
The board approved a joint venture between Barnard Construction Co. of Bozeman, Mont., and Judlau Contracting of New York for the $583 million contract to dig a mile-long tube in Manhattan. Groundbreaking will occur next year and the segment will take four to five years to complete, according to Dan Schall, Barnard's vice president.
The entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2017 and will add two rail lines into New York from New Jersey. NJ Transit officials have said it will allow them to more than double the number of trains during peak commute times, from 23 to 48."