Top 25 Design Firms Project Highlights

ENGINEERS

ODOT Design-Build Bridges, Oregon Interstates 5 and 84
CH2MHill (Ranking: 1)

CH2MHill Constructors, along with design and construction management firm Holm II Inc., were chosen as the design-build team by the Oregon Department of Transportation to replace cracked bridges along interstates 5 and 84 in Oregon.

The first of two projects - located 13 miles south of Eugene over the Coast Fork of the Willamette River - broke ground in June 2002, just one month after the contract was awarded. It involves the replacement of the bridge's southbound lanes. The second project, on I-84 seven miles north of La Grande, spans the Grande Ronde River at Lower Perry Interchange. This project replaces two existing structures for both directions of travel. At both locations, the superstructure has substandard width and rail, the substructure is substandard with respect to seismic design, and the bridges are restricted in their load-carrying capacity. Also, several interior bents of the structures are located in the active channel and floodplain of the rivers.

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adidas Village, Portland, Ore.
David Evans and Associates (Ranking: 2)

David Evans and Associates provided the civil engineering and landscape architecture for adidas Village Phase I, a $46 million development in Portland, serving as the main headquarters for adidas America, adidas International and two subsidiary companies. DEA provided services to redevelop the site of the old Bess Kaiser Hospital. Work included a remodel of the existing hospital buildings into Class A office space, construction of a three-level, 750-car underground parking structure with a pedestrian plaza on top, an indoor sports complex, two four-story office buildings, a soccer field and public street reconstruction. DEA developed the master landscape plan for the entire project and will also provide services to develop a portion of adjacent city-owned land into a park.

Kennewick Water Filtration Plant Improvements, Kennewick, Wash.
HDR Engineering (Ranking: 4)

The Kennewick WFP Improvements project will increase the plant capacity from 7.5 to 15 mgd, making the upgraded plant the city's main year-round source of supply.

The plant was originally designed to expand with similar parallel conventional treatment trains. However, to meet the city's budget, submerged low-pressure membranes will replace the granular media in the existing four concrete filter basins to maintain the same footprint. Using submerged membrane technology, the plant capacity can more than double without constructing new concrete filter basins.

The plant upgrade process will be rapid mix, flocculation, sedimentation, membrane filtration, and chlorine disinfection. Ozone will no longer be used. The plant will include powdered activated carbon and potassium permanganate chemical feed facilities for seasonal taste and odor control as needed. Taste and odor chemical treatment will occur upstream of the membranes and, therefore, an oxidant resistant membrane is required.

Completion of the final design is expected this month. The construction contact will bid in Spring 2004 and construction will occur between October 2004 and March 2005, when the existing seasonal WFP is not in service.

Tacoma Narrows Parallel Bridge, Tacoma, Wash.
HNTB Corp. (Ranking: 8)

HNTB's Tacoma Narrows Parallel Bridge Image courtesy of HNTB

When completed, the new Tacoma Narrows Parallel Bridge will be the first major suspension bridge in the world to be constructed under a design-build contracting arrangement. The new suspension bridge will consist of a 2,800-ft. main span supported by reinforced concrete towers. Three miles of SR 16 will be reconstructed to divided highway with HOV lanes, two new interchanges and a toll facility. The project schedule includes a fast-track design in order to conform to the overall project delivery schedule of 55 months. The project is financed with bonds that will be paid off with tolls, similar to the financing for the existing bridge.

The project's designer is Parsons/HNTB, a joint venture. Tacoma Narrows Constructors (TNC), a Bechtel/Kiewit joint venture, is the contractor.

Deicing Stormwater System at Portland International Airport, Portland, Ore.
Kennedy/Jenks Consultants (Ranking: 10)

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants recently completed the final design and construction services for a $31 million deicing material collection and storage system at Portland International Airport. Kennedy/Jenks is responsible for the design and construction documents, bidding assistance, PLC programming and construction support services.

The deicing material collection and storage system is the major piece of the Port's long-term deicing management and control program to reduce the impacts of aircraft and pavement deicing on the Columbia Slough. Over the past several years, the Port has taken steps to reduce the use of deicing materials and to use alternative materials and methods.

The collection and storage system collects storm water run off containing deicing materials, monitors the concentrations, and diverts higher concentrated run?off to the storage tank and low concentrated run?off into the detention basin. The water in the storage tank is metered into the sanitary sewer system for treatment at the City of Portland's wastewater treatment plant, while the water in the detention basin is metered into the Columbia Slough within acceptable limits.

Lake Oswego Algae and Debris Skimmer, Lake Oswego, Ore.
AMEC Earth and Environmental (Ranking: 15)

AMEC was hired by the Lake Oswego Corp. to find a way to clean up the thick algae and debris that accumulates on the lake's surface. AMEC's solution was to design, coordinate construction of and test a high-powered skimmer and filtration system mounted upon a pontoon barge. This one-of-a-kind unit, which can remove hundreds of pounds of algae and debris daily, had to overcome numerous engineering challenges and constraints that included a filtration system that could handle anything from stringy plants to four-inch thick chunks of wood skimmed from the lake's surface.

Clackamas High School, Clackamas, Ore.
Interface Engineering Inc. (Ranking: 20)

The lighting system used by Interface Engineering at Clackamas High School helped the design team keep energy consumption levels to a minimum and meet requirements set by a federal grant.

Interface designers chose a Synergy lighting control system that complements extensive daylighting throughout the building by creating a seamless blend of artificial and natural light. At Clackamas, the system switches and dims classroom lighting based on available daylight and room occupancy, expending no more energy than is necessary for the lighting needed at students' desktops. The system allows energy use to be monitored on a room-by-room basis at a central location so that adjustments may be made to ensure projected energy savings - in this instance, 57 percent over conventional lighting.

Howard Hanson Dam Excavation and Cofferdam Juvenile Fish Passage Facility, Enumclaw, Wash.
INCA Engineers Inc. (Ranking: 21) and Shannon and Wilson (Ranking: 6)

INCA Engineers' Howard Hanson Dam Excavation and Cofferdam Juvenile Fish Passage Facility Image courtesy of INCA

The proposed Juvenile Fish Passage Facility is intended to pass migrating fish downstream through Howard Hanson Dam. The main features of the proposed facility include a wet well, floating fish collector, two fish locks, a tower, an attraction water discharge conduit, and a fish transport pipeline. Under contracts with the Seattle and Portland Districts, INCA Engineers and Shannon & Wilson conducted brainstorming sessions and an alternatives study to develop and screen alternatives for construction of a cofferdam to facilitate construction of the proposed facility. The two highest-ranked alternatives included constructing a temporary bulkhead and utilizing in-the-wet construction. During these studies, INCA developed temporary construction procedures for each alternative, preliminary design of the main structural elements, and a cost comparison between the two alternatives.

When the Seattle District chose the in-the-wet construction alternative, INCA and Shannon & Wilson were retained to complete the final design. INCA's scope of work included engineering, design, and preparation of an electronic bid package. This included preparation of 192 drawings (134 new drawings and 58 reference drawings) for the Phase 1 construction contract. Key project features included rock excavation near an existing intake tower, heavy lift precast cofferdam components, in-the-wet construction methods and preservation of the Tacoma City water source throughout construction.

Harborview Bond Project, Seattle, Wash.
Coffman Engineers (Ranking: 23)

Coffman provided mechanical engineering for predesign services associated with 244,000 sq. ft. of inpatient expansion and a new 100,000-sq.-ft. laboratory and medical examiner's building with a 231,500-sq.-ft. below-grade parking garage.

The project also includes 9,000 sq. ft. of emergency department remodel, seismic retrofit of the existing central and east hospital buildings, sustainable building strategies and demolition of several existing buildings. New departments in the inpatient expansion building will include surgery, intensive care, central supply and various clinics. Both buildings include retail space on the street level.

Architects Highlights 2003
Engineers Highlights 2003