P.M. BRIEFING : 3 Firms Win A-Smasher Contract

WASHINGTON — The Energy Department today awarded a $1-billion engineering and construction contract for a high-powered atom smasher to a team led by a New York firm, according to members of Congress.

The contract was awarded to a consortium of three companies led by Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas Inc. of New York City. Also on the team are CRSS Inc. of Houston and Morrison-Knudsen Co. of Boise, Ida.

Officials say the award is the largest single contract involved in building the superconducting super-collider, a 53-mile underground ring where scientists will test theories about the building blocks of the universe by smashing atomic particles at high speeds.

The team was chosen from three finalists selected in December out of a field of 14 to compete for the contract to build the atom smasher at a site south of Dallas.