DC Water's Blue Plains Tunnel named Best Project Overall by Engineering News-Record
DENVER (PRNewswire) -- The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority's (DC Water) Blue Plains Tunnel has been selected as the recipient of the 2016 Best Project Overall award for the Mid-Atlantic Region by Engineering News-Record. The project was selected best overall from among the winners of nearly 20 different award categories and won additional distinction as the Best Water/Environment Project of 2016.
CH2M served as the lead designer for the design-build contractor Traylor-Skanska-Jay Dee JV who worked on the $330 million contract. The Blue Plains Tunnel was completed in January 2016 as part of DC Water's $2.6 billion DC Clean Rivers Project to keep overflow from entering the Anacostia and Potomac rivers, and Rock Creek in Washington, DC. The Clean Rivers Project will reduce stormwater overflows and CSOs throughout the system by 96 percent annually and by 98 percent for the Anacostia River alone.
The Blue Plains Tunnel included a 24,000-foot-long, 23-foot internal diameter combined sewer overflow (CSO) tunnel constructed in soft ground under and adjacent to the rivers in Washington, DC. Five shafts were constructed for the tunnel—two of which were a 132-foot diameter dewatering shaft and a 76-foot diameter screening shaft. Both shafts, located at the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, are between 180 and 198 feet below ground and were designed as a combined figure eight diaphragm wall structure. This unique design allowed for the tunnel boring machine to be assembled through both shafts and eliminated the need for a mined tunnel to be constructed to connect the two shafts.
"The award-winning Blue Plains Tunnel has been recognized for its innovative design and construction techniques, including world-class size, depth and figure eight configuration of the shafts, composite design for earth and hydrostatic pressure requirements and the massive scale of the construction effort," said Peter Nicol, CH2M Water Business Group President.
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