CH2M HILL completed engineering, procurement, and construction of what it claims is the world’s first full-scale desalination plant to use large-diameter seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) technology. The project, for PowerSeraya Ltd, one of the largest integrated energy companies in the Republic of Singapore, was successfully delivered by CH2M HILL on a fast-track schedule of 18 months, from contract signing to plant handover. The desalination plant features granular media filtration pretreatment and a two-pass SWRO system.

The Port of Tacoma, Wash., selected Moffatt & Nichol to lead development and construction of the new $300 million East Blair Two Terminal (EB2) for Yusen Terminal Tacoma, Inc. It will be a two-berth, 168-acre facility with an integrated container yard and an on-dock intermodal rail loading yard. As the prime consultant, Moffatt & Nichol’s Seattle office will provide project management and be accountable for all aspects of the project, from planning through construction support. The firm will lead the planning and design for the container terminal and gate complex, wharf structure, and terminal security.

The Riverside County Transportation Commission awarded a contract to PB to provide engineering services for a major expansion of the SR-91 toll road in Riverside County, Calif. The project will study the addition of one general purpose lane and two toll lanes in each direction on SR-91 from SR-241 to Pierce Street through the city of Corona (approximately 12 miles). It includes widening existing undercrossings and water crossings, and realignment and reconstruction of existing exit and entrance ramps within the project limits. The project also entails a direct connector to link I-15 to the toll lanes and potentially extend this connection 5 miles along I-15. The expansion has an estimated construction cost of $1 billion.

URS Corporation is the lead design firm for one of the nation’s first private-sector, pass-through financing transportation projects, which allows local municipalities or private entities to pay for up-front costs to build a transportation project and get reimbursed later from the state. URS is teamed with JD Abrams, LP, which has contracted with the Texas Department of Transportation to finance, design, and construct the El Paso Spur 601 project. Spur 601 is a new freeway that will connect US-54 to Loop 375 in El Paso, Texas. The project is approximately 7 miles long and features direct connectors between US-54 and Spur 601 and a 6,000-foot-long bridge over an existing service road. The new highway, part of a Pentagon plan to bring more than 50,000 soldiers and family members to Fort Bliss and El Paso, is expected to handle traffic from nearby Fort Bliss and the increasing flow of northeast El Paso traffic. Design of the project is expected to be completed in one year, with construction scheduled for completion in approximately three years at an estimated cost of $367 million.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) selected Evans-Graves Engineers, PBS&J, and HDR to provide program and project management support for the Corps’ South Louisiana Water Resources Program. Encompassing hurricane protection and ecosystem restoration, the program includes levees, floodwalls, floodgates, and pump stations, as well as coastal protection measures. The work to be carried out by the Corps is currently budgeted at more than $14.6 billion, most of which is scheduled to be complete by 2011. Executed through the Corps’ New Orleans District, the contract provides support to multiple Corps organizations, including Task Force Hope, the Hurricane Protection Office, the Protection and Restoration Office, and the New Orleans District itself. The three firms will provide services in program management, project management, construction management, coastal restoration, environmental compliance, general engineering, GIS analysis, cost estimating, and scheduling.