4 teams qualify to bid on Viaduct-replacement tunnel

The state Department of Transportation has released the names of the four design-build teams qualified to submit proposals for the Alaskan Way Viaduct bored-tunnel project. They are:

AWV Joint Venture, a group with Omaha-based Kiewit Pacific Co. and German-based Bilfinger Berger Ingenieurbau.

Seattle Tunneling Group made up of S.A. Healy Co. from Lombard, Ill.; Spain's FCC Construccion; S.A. Parsons Transportation Group, Inc., which has a Seattle office; and Halcrow, Inc., which has an office in Vancouver, B.C.

Vinnci/Traylor/Skanska (VTS JV) made up of VINCI Construction Grand Projects, a French Company; Traylor Bros., Inc. of Evansville, Ind.; and Skanska USA and Arup, both of which have Seattle offices.

Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) made up of Dragados-USA, from New York, and HNTB Corporation, which has a Bellevue office.

The four teams will receive a request for proposals in the spring. The proposals, to be submitted next fall, will detail the firms' plans for completing the tunnel design, constructing a tunnel boring machine and building the tunnel, including the interior roadway, tunnel systems, ventilation buildings and portal connections. The contract is estimated at approximately $1 billion.

"We are very pleased with the quality of the contractor teams vying for this project," said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. "Their world-class expertise will be invaluable as we identify innovative ways to deliver the tunnel on time, within budget and with the highest level of quality."

Early this year, the state, county, city, and Port of Seattle recommended replacing the viaduct with a bored tunnel beneath downtown Seattle. The plan includes a new waterfront roadway and public open spaces, transit investments, a new central waterfront sea wall, and city street improvements. Environmental review of the proposed bored tunnel is under way, and a supplemental draft environmental impact statement will be available next year.