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A planned upgrade to increase the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant in The Dalles will be designed and built using an alternative project delivery method that maximizes client input.

The city of The Dalles has hired general contractor Mortenson Construction and engineering firm Kennedy/Jenks Consultants to complete the $4.8 million project using progressive design-build methodology. Instead of seeking preliminary designs from firms vying for a project, cities and other public entities that opt for the progressive design-build method typically hire a team based solely on qualifications and past experience. This eliminates any design work that occurs without owner input, providing the opportunity for the client to be involved in the process from the earliest planning stages.

鈥淚n progressive (design-build), it’s really based on the customer and the culture of the organization,鈥� said Thomas Paul, general manager of Mortenson’s environmental group.

When the Mortenson and Kennedy/Jenks team was shortlisted to design and build The Dalles wastewater treatment plant project, city officials invited the two firms to a four-hour interview with no agenda, he said. During the interview, Mortenson and Kennedy/Jenks staffers explored the city’s options for either updating or replacing its nearly 80-year-old wastewater treatment plant. This ultimately led to the team landing the job late last year.

鈥淭here really aren’t a lot of rules with progressive design-build,鈥� Paul said. 鈥淵ou kind of take a bunch of ideas and throw them on a board.鈥�

Through a process of brainstorming with the design-build team that’s continued since the firms were hired, city officials decided to go against the recommendation of a facilities master plan to replace the aging wastewater treatment plant with a new facility, said Dave Anderson, public works director for The Dalles. Plans to renovate a pump station to increase the amount of waste that can be pumped into the plant will result in significant amount of cost savings over replacing it, he said.

鈥淲e saw that the design-build process would allow the contractor to be involved early in the process,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淲e also realized that the concepts that were presented in our facilities plan were concepts and they were just that, and allow for as much innovation as we can with our construction contractor. We are taking a step back from the facilities master plan and trying to identify all the ways we could do this.鈥�

When the project team analyzed the city’s options for increasing the capacity of its wastewater treatment plant, the team realized the recommendation of the facilities plan to replace the facility didn’t make a lot of sense, especially from a cost perspective.

鈥淲e said, 鈥榃hat’s wrong with your current building and how can we reuse that asset?’鈥� Paul said.

The project team recently wrapped up the 鈥渄iscover and explore phase鈥� of the design process with four potential alternatives for updating the wastewater treatment plant with careful consideration of the estimated cost for each option, Anderson said.

鈥淚’m really encouraged at this point,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t looks like we have the opportunity to save millions of dollars and still achieve our needs.鈥�

Looking at ways to most cost-effectively complete a project is one of the biggest advantages of progressive design-build, Paul said.

鈥淚 think it’s a value analysis,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen you bring that to the table, it’s a huge cost advantage.鈥�

Although the city of The Dalles has completed projects in the past using the design-build process, the wastewater treatment plant upgrade is the first to be done using the progressive method, Anderson said. He suggested the city give progressive design-build a try after learning about the concept at a wastewater plant design conference.

鈥淯nder a traditional delivery method, it’s possible we would have taken that (replacement) concept from the master plan,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淚 think we’re providing some better value to us by looking at some other alternatives.鈥�

Construction is scheduled to start this fall on upgrades to The Dalles’ wastewater treatment plant and be complete by fall 2016.

The Dalles wastewater treatment plant upgrade

Location: 105 Laughlin St., The Dalles

Cost: $4.8 million

Anticipated construction start date: Fall 2015

Anticipated construction completion date: Fall 2016

Owner: City of The Dalles

Engineer: Kennedy/Jenks Consultants

General contractor: Mortenson Construction