Traylor-Shea to design and build RiverRenew tunnel system
20 November 2020US-based AlexRenew – the public utility for water renewal in Alexandria, Virginia – has awarded a US$454.4m contract to Traylor-Shea Joint Venture to design and construct the RiverRenew Tunnel System Project.
The project will resolve a sewer problem dating back to the mid-19th century: it includes a new 3.2km-long, 3.7m-wide tunnel, shafts and other sewer infrastructure to help prevent around 590 million litres of sewage from polluting the Potomac River, Hunting Creek and Hooffs Run each year. The work will comply with a 2017 Virginia law aiming to deliver cleaner, healthier waterways to Alexandria by July 2025.
Contracted to complete the final design and construct the tunnel system, the Traylor-Shea design-build team comprises Traylor Bros and J.F. Shea Co. It plans to use a TBM to excavate the tunnel. The team has undertaken over 15 tunnel projects nationwide in the past 30 years, the most recent in the area being the 7.2km-long, 7m-wide Blue Plains Tunnel in the District of Columbia. Traylor-Shea will be supported by Jacobs Engineering and Corman Kokosing Construction Co.
AlexRenew – supported by the City of Alexandria – has been working to implement the RiverRenew programme since 2018. Over 90% of the project is expected to be undertaken by firms based in Alexandria or the greater Washington metropolitan area.
Karen Pallansch, AlexRenew CEO said: “In spite of a government shutdown, an ongoing pandemic and other hurdles, RiverRenew is on track to meet its incredibly aggressive completion timetable. AlexRenew will continue to fulfil our vital mission to clean wastewater, working collaboratively with our community to solve our environmental challenges proactively and through effective local, long-term investments.”?
