ARCADIA, CA-A joint venture of Kiewit andPasadena, CA-based Parsons Corp., calledFoothill Transit Constructors, has won a $486million contract to build the 11.5-mile Gold Line FoothillExtension light rail project from Pasadena to Azusa. The projectincludes final design and construction of 11.5 miles of track, sixstations, dozens of crossings, utilities, systems and relatedinfrastructure.

The contract was awarded by the Metro Gold Line FoothillExtension Construction Authority board of directors. Board chairmanand Glendora Mayor Doug Tessitor said that theKiewit-Parsons JV "presented the best of both worlds: thetop-ranked technical proposal and the lowest bid."

The project will take approximately four years to complete andis estimated to create nearly 7,000 jobs and $1 billion of economicoutput during construction , according to ChristineCooper, director of the economy and policy analysis groupat the Los Angeles County Economic DevelopmentCorp.