Project managers are struggling with how to remove “Rainier,” a tunnel-boring machine that is stuck 330 ft underground since last year. Until the rig is moved, the area’s $1.8-billion Brightwater treatment plant can’t be finished. + Image Source: King County Original contractor and owner parted ways after TBM bogged down. The parties are negotiating a claim while a replacement team drills ahead. Related Links: Seattle Membrane Plant Treats to Higher Levels “As of May 1, we have no way to remove it and are still working on a plan,” says Gunars Sreibers, project manager with King County, Wash. The tunnel,
The $119.9-million Nalley Valley project is designed to fix a pickle of a traffic bottleneck where Interstate 5 meets State Route 16 in South Tacoma. Contractor Guy F. Atkinson Construction, Renton, Wash., is replacing the original road structure that travels over the valley named for Nalley Inc., a Northwest food manufacturer that produces chili, pickles and other canned food. Photo: WSDOT Crews are in the process of setting girders on a new bridge connecting Interstate 5 to westbound SR 16 as part of the Nalley Valley project, which rebuilds one of Tacoma’s worst freeway traffic snarls exacerbated by vehicles having
Max J. Kuney Construction, Spokane, will be the primary contractor for the next phase of safety improvements along Interstate 90, between Hyak and the Keechelus Dam. Kuney submitted the low bid of $76 million, which was 30% under estimates by the state Dept. of Transportation’s engineer. Photo: WSDOT Crews place a girder for the new detour bridge at Gold Creek just east of the Snoqualmie Pass. The Interstate-90 widening project will widen five miles of roadway to improve safety and reliability. Photo: WSDOT A worker ‘hangs out’ while positioning the heavy concrete bridge girder over Gold Creek during construction last
It’s not the gangbuster activity that the media dubbed the Tacoma Renaissance a few years ago, but the city skyline is dotted with a few cranes, and more are coming in the spring. Photo: ZGF/Tacoma Public Library The redevelopment of the land surrounding the historic Elks Club in Tacoma was designed by ZGF Architects LLP to include a 25,000-sq-ft upscale grocery and five stories of apartments plus a five-level parking garage. The club building itself will be restored by McMenamins into a hotel, spa and pub. Image: Grant Architects The Collector Car Center will be part of the first phase
The Washington State Dept. of Transportation has qualified four design-build teams that will vie for a $1-billion contract to construct a deep-bore tunnel replacing the seismically unsound Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle. The winner will begin work on the four-lane, 2-mile-long double-decker tunnel on state Route 99 after the award in late 2010. Slide Show Photo: WSDOT Four design-build teams will vie for the $1-billion contract to replace the seismically unsound Alaskan Way Viaduct, which is scheduled to break ground by the end of 2010. Related Links: University Link's Sound Strategy New Treatment Plant Clears Way for Elwha Dam Project
Completion of a new water treatment plant in Port Angeles, Wash. in December was one of the final projects necessary for the start of the largest dam removal project in the United States. Photo: John Korsmo Construction These chemical injection pumps are part of the $25.5-million Port Angeles Water Treatment Plant built by Watts/Korsmo A JV that will help filter the extra thousands of cu yds of silt that will flow down the Elwha River when the National Park Service completes its dam removal project. Photo: NPS Congress approved removal of the Elwha River and Glines Canyon Dams in 1993.
Northwest Construction launched the Legacy Awards at the 2009 Best of breakfast, to recognize individuals who have made a lasting change in the local construction industry. The 2009 award went to Jack Rafn, Rafn Co., Bellevue, who sat on the original steering committee that contacted Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) National and requested chapter-in-formation status. Photo Credit: ABC Jack Rafn worked to maintain cooperative relationships with all project team members, a controversial idea when he started his company in 1978. Rafn Company lost a job they had been low bidder on, solely because of their open shop status. This discrimination
The Washington State Dept. of Transportation has qualified four design-build teams that will vie for a $1-billion contract to construct a deep-bore tunnel replacing the seismically unsound Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle. The winner will begin work on the four-lane, 2-mile-long double-decker tunnel on state Route 99 after the award in late 2010. + Image A new tunnel (inset) will replace waterfront viaduct. WSDOT on Dec. 18 announced the qualified joint-venture teams: Seattle Tunnel Partners, which includes Dragados USA Inc., Coral Gables, Fla., and HNTB Corp., Kansas City, Mo.; Seattle Tunneling Group, which includes S.A. Healy Co., Lombard, Ill., FCC
Texas Construction presents its thirteenth annual Best Of awards issue, which honors projects completed in our region between Sept. 1, 2008, and Sept. 1, 2009.
