Separate Financial Information of Subsidiary Guarantors of Indebtedness, Condensed Consolidating Statement of Operations (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended									12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012		Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 1,114,198	$ 1,099,393	$ 985,346		$ 912,534	$ 1,114,760	$ 1,166,410	$ 819,858	$ 615,289	$ 4,111,471	$ 3,716,317	$ 3,199,210
Cost of operations										3,696,339	3,320,976	2,861,362
Gross profit	126,449	115,463	87,061		86,159	125,313	120,355	87,210	62,463	415,132	395,341	337,848
General and administrative expenses										260,369	226,965	165,536
Goodwill and intangible assets impairment			376,574							376,574	0	0
(LOSS) INCOME FROM CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS	60,724	54,676	(354,174)	[1]	16,963	50,792	62,036	37,035	18,513	(221,811)	168,376	172,312
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries										0	0	0
Other (expense) income, net										(1,857)	4,421	(2,280)
Interest expense										(44,174)	(35,750)	(10,564)
(Loss) income before income taxes	48,098	44,182	(363,695)		3,573	38,788	56,333	31,015	10,911	(267,842)	137,047	159,468
Benefit (Provision) for Income Taxes										2,442	(50,899)	(55,968)
NET (LOSS) INCOME	41,635	42,591	(348,423)		(1,203)	24,048	35,477	19,694	6,929	(265,400)	86,148	103,500
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
Other Comprehensive income of subsidiaries										0	0	0
Tax adjustment on minimum pension liability										(1,610)	(7,041)	(3,053)
Foreign currency translation										382	(733)	230
Change in fair value of investments										238	199	0
Change in fair value of interest rate swap										(974)	0	0
Realized loss on sale of investments recorded in net income (loss)										2,005	0	0
Total other comprehensive income (loss)										41	(7,575)	(2,823)
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME										(265,359)	78,573	100,677
Tutor Perini Corporation [Member]
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS [Abstract]
Revenues										429,926	300,791	467,259
Cost of operations										375,914	260,251	372,737
Gross profit										54,012	40,540	94,522
General and administrative expenses										71,983	64,472	50,020
Goodwill and intangible assets impairment										0
(LOSS) INCOME FROM CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS										(17,971)	(23,932)	44,502
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries										(225,100)	118,521	80,606
Other (expense) income, net										(2,603)	5,292	(1,544)
Interest expense										(40,067)	(32,741)	(7,727)
(Loss) income before income taxes										(285,741)	67,140	115,837
Benefit (Provision) for Income Taxes										20,341	19,008	(12,337)
NET (LOSS) INCOME										(265,400)	86,148	103,500
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
Other Comprehensive income of subsidiaries										620	(534)	230
Tax adjustment on minimum pension liability										(1,610)	(7,041)	(3,053)
Foreign currency translation										0	0	0
Change in fair value of investments										0	0	0
Change in fair value of interest rate swap										(974)
Realized loss on sale of investments recorded in net income (loss)										2,005
Total other comprehensive income (loss)										41	(7,575)	(2,823)
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME										(265,359)	78,573	100,677
Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS [Abstract]
Revenues										3,769,814	3,630,262	2,830,896
Cost of operations										3,421,877	3,288,739	2,593,529
Gross profit										347,937	341,523	237,367
General and administrative expenses										186,831	160,926	114,383
Goodwill and intangible assets impairment										376,574
(LOSS) INCOME FROM CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS										(215,468)	180,597	122,984
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries										0	0	0
Other (expense) income, net										382	(919)	(690)
Interest expense										(4,107)	(3,009)	(2,499)
(Loss) income before income taxes										(219,193)	176,669	119,795
Benefit (Provision) for Income Taxes										(13,155)	(65,544)	(42,072)
NET (LOSS) INCOME										(232,348)	111,125	77,723
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
Other Comprehensive income of subsidiaries										0	0	0
Tax adjustment on minimum pension liability										0	0	0
Foreign currency translation										382	(733)	230
Change in fair value of investments										238	199	0
Change in fair value of interest rate swap										0
Realized loss on sale of investments recorded in net income (loss)										0
Total other comprehensive income (loss)										620	(534)	230
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME										(231,728)	110,591	77,953
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS [Abstract]
Revenues										0	0	(1)
Cost of operations										(13,183)	(13,278)	(5,960)
Gross profit										13,183	13,278	5,959
General and administrative expenses										1,555	1,567	1,133
Goodwill and intangible assets impairment										0
(LOSS) INCOME FROM CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS										11,628	11,711	4,826
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries										0	0	0
Other (expense) income, net										364	48	(46)
Interest expense										0	0	(338)
(Loss) income before income taxes										11,992	11,759	4,442
Benefit (Provision) for Income Taxes										(4,744)	(4,363)	(1,559)
NET (LOSS) INCOME										7,248	7,396	2,883
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
Other Comprehensive income of subsidiaries										0	0	0
Tax adjustment on minimum pension liability										0	0	0
Foreign currency translation										0	0	0
Change in fair value of investments										0	0	0
Change in fair value of interest rate swap										0
Realized loss on sale of investments recorded in net income (loss)										0
Total other comprehensive income (loss)										0	0	0
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME										7,248	7,396	2,883
Eliminations [Member]
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS [Abstract]
Revenues										(88,269)	(214,736)	(98,944)
Cost of operations										(88,269)	(214,736)	(98,944)
Gross profit										0	0	0
General and administrative expenses										0	0	0
Goodwill and intangible assets impairment										0
(LOSS) INCOME FROM CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS										0	0	0
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries										225,100	(118,521)	(80,606)
Other (expense) income, net										0	0	0
Interest expense										0	0	0
(Loss) income before income taxes										225,100	(118,521)	(80,606)
Benefit (Provision) for Income Taxes										0	0	0
NET (LOSS) INCOME										225,100	(118,521)	(80,606)
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
Other Comprehensive income of subsidiaries										(620)	534	(230)
Tax adjustment on minimum pension liability										0	0	0
Foreign currency translation										0	0	0
Change in fair value of investments										0	0	0
Change in fair value of interest rate swap										0
Realized loss on sale of investments recorded in net income (loss)										0
Total other comprehensive income (loss)										(620)	534	(230)
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME										$ 224,480	$ (117,987)	$ (80,836)

[1] Includes pre-tax goodwill and intangible asset impairment of $376.6 million.