BOISE, Idaho - The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $15.2 million contract on August 30 to Northbank Civil & Marine, Inc., a small business based in Vancouver, Washington, to build a fish passage tunnel at Cle Elum Dam in Washington.
Work under this contract involves constructing a 1,250-foot tunnel from the previously constructed secant pile shaft to the downstream stilling basin. The secant shaft is an underground vault that will eventually house the juvenile fish passage structure, allowing young salmon to safely bypass the dam to the river below. The Fish Passage Facility is a component of the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan, which focuses on water conservation, irrigation needs, fisheries, and watershed health. Principal components of the work include earthwork, tunnel, cast-in-place reinforced concrete features, metal fabrications, and electrical features.
Construction activity will begin in mid-October 2017 and be completed in August 2020.
“The fish passage project is a vital partnership program with the Yakama Nation and the State of Washington," said Reclamation’s Acting Commissioner Alan Mikkelsen. “The construction of a tunnel will provide a safe downstream pathway from the reservoir to the Cle Elum River for juvenile salmon, including sockeye."
Northbank Civil & Marine, Inc., is a small business contractor serving Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and Montana since 2014. Their primary focus is government-related contracts. Some of their work includes hydroelectric-related projects, fish passage enhancement, marine pipelines and outfalls, dam and navigational lock rehabilitation, pile driving and sheet pile installation, bridge mechanical rehabilitation, and all marine-related construction.
Cle Elum Dam is an earthfill dam, built in 1933. It is owned and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. Cle Elum Dam is located on the Cle Elum River about 75 miles northwest of Yakima, Washington.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
