WINTER 2013/14

A Different Kind Of Seattle Boat Tour

Last week I took a boat ride along the Seattle waterfront. I’ve done that before but this time it was a little different. It wasn’t a warm, sunny August day in Seattle, it was grey December with the temperature not too far above freezing. Instead of lazing through an enjoyable sightseeing jaunt, we slid beneath piers and tediously wound through forests of pilings, peering into the shadows.

What I’m describing was another step in the ever so detailed utility coordination process for the Elliott Bay Seawall Project (EBSP). This time it involved a meticulous visual survey to identify and document any previously unidentified utility features directly attached to the seawall itself. Along much of the structure, the only way to get a better view is to get in a boat and do a direct inspection.

As EBSP construction ramps up, our job as utility coordinator is to stay ahead of the action. Time and money are absolutely key resources and neither can be wasted. To maintain the construction schedule, timely, well-sequenced utility handling is the order of the day. Although we generated mountains of information about existing features during design, it’s necessary to drive the process down another level to eliminate as many last minute scrambles as we can. To accomplish that, it’s critical for us to pay attention to details, be flexible and adapt quickly – hey, that sounds suspiciously like the second of our keys for success!



So, we are identifying any wires, cables, conduits, fixtures and other attached hardware that will be threatened by construction, then developing strategies to deal with them. I gathered a large amount of data in the form of notes, images and video. This will all be digitally catalogued, indexed and correlated to the construction documents. We’ll refer to this source in utility coordination meetings and in our daily work with the contractor, construction manager and SDOT.

We triage the investigation to focus on the earliest wall demolition and temporary utility construction. This means we’ll be heading down under the piers several more times to get everything identified in advance of construction. One of the peculiar aspects of this situation is that although an item may be easy to see from water level, it doesn’t necessarily mean one can easily recognize what it is or who owns and manages it.



Tracking these things can be like following little rabbit trails. It’s going to require following wires, pipes and conduits onto private property under piers to figure out what they are. We’ve done a lot of this in the past, but this project presents something of a mother lode.