November 20, 2017

Pier 62 rebuild starts in 2 weeks

Image from city of Seattle [enlarge]

This park atop Pier 62 will be one of the first elements of the new waterfront.

In two weeks, Pacific Pile & Marine is expected start a $34.8 million rebuild of Pier 62 and part of Pier 63 along the Seattle waterfront.

A public park atop Pier 62 will be one of the first elements of the new waterfront. It will provide a place for people to connect with the water, enjoy views and attend cultural events such as the “Summer Nights at the Pier” concert series.

The city of Seattle received three bids for the project over the summer. Pacific Pile was the low bidder, at $31.33 million for the base and an alternate.

Kit Loo, the city's project manager, said construction cost inflation bumped the project's budget from $29 million to nearly $35 million.

Most of the work will replace 884 wood piles with 175 steel pipe piles, which will improve the structure of the pier and the marine habitat below.

The old timber deck will be replaced by a textured concrete deck with embedded solar-powered LED lighting. Translucent grates will allow light to reach the shallow water habitat below.

Crews will also install new railings, build a floating public dock and add utilities to support events.

Pacific Pile will remove the timber piles with a vibratory extractor, and then install new steel piles with a vibratory pile driver. New piles will be topped with precast concrete caps, which will support precast concrete panels.

Pier 63 will be graded along the nearshore to provide additional lighting for habitat enhancement. The underwater habitat bench that was part of the central waterfront seawall will be extended to Pier 63.

The city estimates construction will finish in late 2019. Pier 62 will be closed during construction and pedestrians will be detoured to the east side of Alaskan Way between Lenora and Pike streets.

The project includes upland work, such as improvements to Alaskan Way and utilities. Gary Merlino Construction is the primary subcontractor for that work.

Reid Middleton is the primary designer. James Corner Field Operations is providing urban design and some architectural design, and Aspect Consulting is the geotechnical engineer.

The DJC reported in April that the team included Parsons Brinckerhoff (now WSP), civil and electrical engineer; dark|light design, lighting; Rushing, mechanical engineer; and Anchor QEA, environmental.

The city is partnering with the not-for-profit Friends of Waterfront Seattle, which has pledged to raise $8 million of the project cost from private donors.