King County awards first Brightwater construction contract

$131 million contract includes construction of 14,000-foot-long tunnel

2005 Archived News

King County Executive Ron Sims today announced the signing of the first construction project contract for the $1.4 billion Brightwater wastewater treatment plant.

Kenny/Shea/Traylor, A Joint Venture of Wheeling, Ill., has been awarded a $131 million contract to build the east segment of Brightwater treatment plant's conveyance system -- a 14,000-foot-long tunnel from the North Creek Business Park in Bothell to the plant site at the intersection of State Route 9 and State Route 522 north of Woodinville.

"Awarding the contract today is a milestone in this vital project," Sims said. "Brightwater will protect public health and the environment for the next generation while providing infrastructure needed for economic growth. The new facilities will be good neighbors during both construction and operation, and we will ensure that Brightwater is built to strict environmental standards."

Kenny/Shea/Traylor is expected to begin construction on the conveyance system early next spring. A special tunnel-boring machine will be used to create a tunnel approximately 18 feet in diameter to depths of up to 260 feet below the surface.
The scope of work also includes excavating a 74-foot-deep shaft that will be used to launch the tunnel-boring machine, installing four pipes in the tunnel ranging from 27 inches to 84 inches in diameter, and installing three fiber-optic cables to monitor Brightwater facilities. The tunnel will be backfilled filled with concrete after the pipes and cables are installed.

The contractor will also dig a smaller, 2,400-foot-long microtunnel from the North Creek tunnel shaft to the existing North Creek Pump Station, and excavate an 83-foot-deep double shaft for a new Brightwater system pump station that will be built under a separate contract.

The work is part of the $1.4 billion Brightwater project to build a treatment plant, 13-mile conveyance pipeline, and a marine outfall north of Seattle by 2010. King County will advertise two more tunneling contracts in 2006. Total construction cost for the wastewater conveyance system is an estimated $705 million.

This contract was advertised in July 2005 under a competitive procurement process conducted by King County. Kenny/Shea/Traylor was the low bidder among six firms that submitted bids in October. Bid results are posted on the Web at www.metrokc.gov/procurement/rfp_rfq_itb/awarded.aspx

A bid evaluation team comprised of representatives from the design team, the construction management team, and the project manager, conducted a thorough review of Kenny/Shea/Traylor's qualifications before awarding the contract. The County has already selected Jacobs Civil to provide construction management services for the conveyance facilities. MWH/Jacobs Associates is designing the system as a joint venture.

Kenny/Shea/Traylor, A Joint Venture has extensive experience on tunnel and underground construction projects, most recently the North Outfall Sewer and the East Central Interceptor Sewer for the City of Los Angeles.

Formerly known as Metro, the wastewater-treatment utility now operated by King County has been preventing water pollution for 40 years. The regional clean-water agency serves 17 cities, 17 local sewer utilities and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.