Narragansett Bay Commission Issues RFQ for Pawtucket Tunnel

By TBM Staff August 22, 2019

The Narragansett Bay Commission (NBC) has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to solicit Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) from entities interested in serving as the design builder for the design and construction of the Pawtucket Tunnel.

The Pawtucket Tunnel is a rock tunnel, 140-ft to 180-ft below the ground surface, located north of the Bucklin Point Wastewater Treatment Facility from 804 School Street to 660 Roosevelt Avenue in Pawtucket, RI, adjacent to the Blackstone River. The tunnel is approximately 11,600 ft in length with a 30-ft inside diameter. Conceptual design of the Pawtucket Tunnel includes a single-pass, gasketed, precast-concrete, segmental tunnel liner. This lining system was selected as best suited to control groundwater inflows, maintain rock stability, control quality and reduce time of installation.

NBC will use information from the RFQ to determine a short list of respondents, which will be invited to submit proposals for a subsequent Request for Proposals (RFP). The project will use the Design-Build (DB) method of project delivery with a fixed-price contract.

Following evaluation of the proposals received in response to the RFP, NBC intends to select the proposer that it determines to provide the best value based on technical approach, innovation, price and other factors that will be set forth in the RFP.

The anticipated schedule had NBC issuing notice to proceed in November/December 2020, with the project reaching substantial completion by December 2024.

The Pawtucket Tunnel is a continuation of NBC’s three-phase CSO control program that began in response to a 1992 consent agreement with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Phases 1 and 2 were completed in 2008 and 2015, respectively.

The largest facility in Phase I was a deep rock storage tunnel in Providence designed to store CSOs during wet weather events for subsequent pump out and treatment. Phase I was completed in 2008 at a construction cost of $360 million. Phase II, which began construction in 2011, consisted of interceptors to connect additional outfalls to the Providence Tunnel plus several sewer separation projects. The final component of Phase II was completed in 2015 at a construction cost of $197 million.

Stantec, along with its teaming partner, Pare Corporation, is the Program Manager for NBC’s Phase III Combined Sewer Overflow Program. For information, contact Kathryn Kelly with the Narragansett Bay Commission (kkelly@narrabay.com).