Contractor to Work on Saturday, January 30

As a reminder, IMCO General Construction has been granted permission to work Saturdays (see post below) and will be working tomorrow, January 30, 2010, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Tomorrow’s construction activities will be similar to last Saturday, with the contractor using a vibratory hammer to drive the steel sheet pile to the design elevation. The contractor has also indicated that they may begin using the hydraulic impact hammer for pile driving at some point next week. As there are noise concerns when the use of an impact hammer is even mentioned, please be assured that noise levels will be monitored according to the Noise Monitoring Plan submitted by the contractor.

Saurday Work - January 23

The Federal and State permitting agencies that authorize elements of the North Marina Combined Projects limit all “in-water work” to the period from July 31 through February 15. The purpose of this limitation is to meet the requirements of the Endangered Species Act and for the protection of Puget Sound Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout. At the south end of the project area, the new steel sheet pile bulkhead is being constructed on the water side of the existing bulkhead and is considered “in-water work.”

In order to get as much of this section of the new bulkhead constructed by February 15, the contractor, IMCO General Construction, has requested and received approval to work Saturdays. Therefore, tomorrow, January 23, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., IMCO will be installing sheet pile at the Marina in the area just to the west of the dry sheds.

Potential Late Afternoon/Early Evening Work

As you may have noticed, morning high tides have been extremely high the last few days and will remain fairly high the remainder of this week. Therefore, IMCO General Construction has received approval to perform pile driving activities at the Des Moines Marina from noon to 8:00 p.m. beginning Wednesday, January 20, through Tuesday, January 26.

IMCO's request for extended work hours stated, and the Engineer of Record concurred, that the best time for the pile driving work to occur is during low tide. In providing conditional approval for IMCO to perform pile driving activities until 8:00 p.m., Jason Sullivan, City of Des Moines Land Use Planner II, stipulated that the contractor must still comply with all noise requirements established by the City's Municipal Code and WAC 173-60. He further stipulated that construction lighting shall be directed away from the residential areas and limited to lighting needed to safely illuminate the work zone as established by industry standards.

If you have any questions related to the extended hours pile driving activities that may be occurring during the next week, please don't hesitate to call or email. You may also wish to check for news and updates on the project website.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during the construction of the North Marina Combined Projects.

Project Status Update - January 15, 2010

Bulkhead construction activities continued throughout December and the first part of January with IMCO General Construction installing steel sheet pile in the area between the existing Travel Lift pier to the south and N Dock to the north. This particular stretch of the new bulkhead will be made up of 45 foot and 20 foot interlocked steel sheet pile pairs. Pile driving will continue in this general area until mid-February.  The photo to the right shows the initial placement of the first few 45' sheet pile pairs.  The photo below depicts sheet pile pairs in various stages of installation as of the end of December. The 45' sheets are on left, with the 20' sheets on right almost totally submerged.

Underground utility work also took place during December. IMCO and their electrical subcontractor installed a new utility duct bank and new vault in the area just south of the west dry shed. Electricians spent a good portion of December re-routing utilities to the newly created duct banks. In addition, Marina staff also spent a significant amount of time moving the security gate control wiring and the CCTV fiber optic cables off the bulkhead and into the new duct banks.

Upcoming work this winter will include the continuation of bulkhead construction, storm drainage improvements and fuel system upgrades.

Please continue to check this website for project status updates and notifications of construction-related access restrictions affecting specific areas at the Marina.