Granite takes Tucson's last airfield job and Metrolink's first SCORE contract

Granite has now won every project in Tucson International Airport's airfield safety programme. On 4 November it announced the last one: a construction manager at risk contract worth about $52 million from the Tucson Airport Authority. A day later it picked up $51.5 million of rail siding work in Southern California, the first project procured under Metrolink's SCORE programme.

Tucson: finishing the set

The CMAR2 project modifies taxiways and connector taxiways to current commercial aviation safety standards, and relocates and upgrades FAA navigational aids. It is the final piece of the authority's Airfield Safety Enhancement programme, a multi-year effort worth more than $400 million to modernise the airfield layout.

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Granite is supplying its own materials. Its Swan Facility in Tucson will provide more than 80,000 tons of FAA-specification aggregate and about 50,000 tons of FAA-specification asphalt. Preconstruction started in September and completion is expected in 2029. The job was already in Granite's third-quarter committed and awarded projects (CAP).

"This project requires close coordination with ongoing airport operations" Derek Betts, Regional Vice President, Granite

Metrolink: first in the door

The Southern California Regional Rail Authority, better known as Metrolink, awarded Granite the bundled Marengo and Rancho Cucamonga siding extensions. One siding is near downtown Los Angeles and the other is in Rancho Cucamonga. Both add capacity for the 2028 Los Angeles Games and for regional rail demand afterwards. Construction is due to start in January 2027 and finish in July 2028, and the award goes into Granite's fourth-quarter CAP.

Bill Moore, Granite's regional vice president, said winning the first SCORE project fits the company's regional rail strategy and puts it in a good position for later packages. He also pointed to Granite's earlier rail work for the Riverside County Transportation Commission.

Why the rail piece matters

Rail is small for Granite today. When it reported third-quarter results last week, the company said rail was under 5% of the business and that it aims to grow that share in 2027, according to Construction Dive. Winning the opening package of a programme is a sensible way to do it: the team learns the owner, the flagging rules and the track-access windows, and that knowledge counts on every bid that follows.

The airport job tells a different story. Winning every phase of a $400 million-plus programme comes from repeat delivery on a live airfield, and from owning the aggregate and asphalt supply down the road. It is the vertically integrated model Granite has leaned on for years, applied to aviation.

What it means for hiring

Our view: Granite's rail push will need project managers and superintendents with commuter or Class 1 railroad experience, including track-protection and flagging coordination. That is a much smaller pool than general highway talent.
Airfield work on an operating airport rewards phasing planners and superintendents who have run FAA-standard paving and NAVAID work around live operations. Repeat programme wins tend to keep those teams together, which makes them hard to poach.
With 2028 Olympics-linked rail work starting in early 2027, Southern California rail contractors are likely to be competing for the same field leaders through 2028.

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