The Seattle office of Skanska USA has secured a $114.6-million contract from the WDOT to construct the replacement of the SR 99 Viaduct from South Holgate St. to South King St. in downtown Seattle. The scope of work will replace the southern mile of the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a new side-by-side roadway that meets current earthquake standards, has wider lanes and improves mobility for people and goods south of downtown. The existing seismically vulnerable structure carries thousands of vehicles to and from downtown Seattle, two major stadiums and the Port of Seattle each day. Additionally, the resulting structure will connect to the existing viaduct or any future replacement of the viaduct’s central waterfront section. This project is critical to public safety given the numerous weak points in the existing bridge’s structure and the existing viaduct rests in unstable soil that could liquefy in an earthquake. Work will commence this summer, to be completed in 2013.

Skanska USA also secured a $50-million construction management assignment from CH2M HILL for construction of the 200 West Groundwater Treatment System facility at the Hanford Site in southeast Washington. The contract is the largest ARRA-funded project awarded so far at Hanford. The project will be a key part of Hanford’s strategy to treat groundwater contamination and further support the DOE 2015 Vision to reduce the Hanford cleanup footprint. Additionally, the treatment plant’s main process building is seeking to become the first and only LEED gold facility on the Hanford Site. The plant will treat approximately 2,500 gpm of groundwater using a variety of techniques, such as resin for the radionuclides, air stripper for volatiles and a bioreactor for nitrates. Ancillary groundwater transfer and injection building construction along with placement of approximately 18 mi of transfer pipe and well drilling to provide the contaminated groundwater to the new treatment system is already under way.