Photo Courtesy of port of tacoma
BIG LIFT. Demolition of the Totem Ocean Trailer Express finger pier on Blair Waterway is one of several such projects in this section of the Tideflats.
A Port of Tacoma program to demolish old buildings and structures along the Blair-Hylebos Peninsula (BHP) is progressing roughly $1.3 million under budget.
In June last year, port commissioners approved an allotted budget not to exceed $17,450,000 for the 2008-2009 BHP Building and Structures Demolition Program, but that number was reduced to $8,709,000 based upon refinement of program documents, projects to be completed, and the number of competitive bids received.
Dave Myers, senior project manager for the program, said demolition projects have only cost about $7,401,379 through April 2009.
“We were able to properly dispose of the hazardous materials and recycle what we could,” he said.
This goal of the program is to clear former industrial complexes, including chemical manufacturing, power generation, office, shipbuilding, warehousing and lumber milling facilities. Specifically, the work involves the removal of 56 structures under seven separate projects.
Last year the commission passed a resolution affirming its environmental stewardship objectives. Demolition contracts associated with this project require that at least 65 percent of all non-hazardous waste be diverted from landfills.
One unique way contractors are reusing old wood piling from demolished buildings is by recycling it for barns. They are inspected for hazardous materials and for building feasibility, then sent to rural areas of the Northwest.
Although the project is under budget, Myers predicts the completion time will run past its deadline.
The need for an extension was caused by a clause that called for commission approval if the program is not completed within 30 days of schedule.
The June 19, 2008, commission authorization for the 2008-2009 BHP Building and Structures Demolition Program indicated an “early 2009” completion date. This date anticipated completion of all in-water work in the fish window, which closed on Feb. 15 this year. Two projects associated with the demolition program, Earley Business Center slips and wharf deconstruction and the TOTE Finger Pier deconstruction, had contracts that went to bid in November 2008, therefore all the work could not be completed in that fish window. As a result, a contract completion date was scheduled for September this year and was used in the bid documents. In addition, Myers explained that Environmental Department coordination associated with another project, the Portac site, cannot be completed until late 2009. So, a revised schedule for the demolition program identifies an approximate completion date of Dec. 31 of this year.
After receiving an update on the program’s status on June 18, commissioners granted Myers and his team a time extension until December this year for projects associated with the program.
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