July 8, 2016

Skagit County Jail gets $2.2M from Ecology to clean up soil on the site

Rendering courtesy of DLR Group [enlarge]

The $60 million, 400-bed jail is designed so that it can be expanded to 800 beds.

A $2.2 million grant from the state Department of Ecology will pay for the lion's share of cleaning up the site where the new Skagit County Jail is being built at Old Highway 99 South and Suzanne Lane in Mount Vernon.

Lydig Construction is building the 400-bed jail on 8 acres where Truck City Truck Stop operated for more than 30 years. The truck stop had a gas station with underground tanks, a weigh station and truck wash.

Crews unearthed four or five “gas station-sized” underground storage tanks last year, according to a county representative. A smaller underground tank that the county wasn't aware of was removed earlier this year.

The Remedial Action Grant is coming from Ecology's Toxics Cleanup Program, which is funded by a tax on hazardous substances.

“To say we're thrilled by this news is an understatement,” said Skagit County Board of Commissioners Chair Lisa Janicki in a news release. “The grant reimburses us for the work we've already done and covers 90 percent of the total expense to clean up the site.”

Total site cleanup costs are estimated at $2.5 million.

Bellingham-based Maul Foster & Alongi demolished the old structures, and excavated and removed contaminated soils.

“During this remediation project, we used robust cleanup technology to make sure we protected both public health and the environment,” said Jim Darling, principal with Maul Foster & Alongi. “With Ecology's partnership, the county is able to transform a once-contaminated property into a valuable community facility.”

Bioremediation is being used to break down any petroleum-based hydrocarbons in the soil. The county will monitor groundwater on a regular basis.

Lydig expects to substantially finish the $60 million jail in May 2017. Crews have been tilting concrete walls for the 100,000-square-foot complex, which will also have offices, a medical clinic, food service, inmate programs and a courtroom.

DLR Group is providing architecture, planning, interior design and mechanical, electrical and structural engineering.

Here is the rest of the team: KPFF Consulting Engineers, civil engineer; Aegis Engineering, fire and life safety and code compliance; Aspen Design Group, landscape architect; R&N Systems Design, security electronics; Halliday Associates, laundry and food service; and JMB Consulting Group, cost estimating.