Good Samaritan Hospital Utilidor Tunnel Project [Puyallup, WA]

Good Samaritan Hospital Utilidor Tunnel Project

Good Samaritan Hospital’s Expansion

The Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA began a massive expansion project in 2008. New facilities will occupy three corners at the intersection of 14th Ave and 3rd Street including a new ER, Patient Care Tower, Parking Structure, Heli-Stop, Central Utility Plant and Utilidor Tunnel. Clark/Kjos and Giffin, Bolte Jurgens Architects make up The Good Sam Design Collaborative.

Tunnel Design

The Good Sam Design Collaborative awarded the Design-Bid-Build contract to SubTerra, Inc. as the Utilidor (utility corridor) Tunnel Designer and Northwest Boring as the tunneling subcontractor to Skanska. The Design-Bid-Build process allowed SubTerra to fast track the project from concept to completed product within a single calendar year.

SubTerra provided Tunnel and Shaft Engineering Services and associated technical support during and after construction.

12 ft. Diameter

Utilidor Tunnel

115 ft. Long Tunnel

Connecting new Central Utility Plant to new Patient Care Tower

0 Accidents

Project Completed Accident Free

Late 2008

Construction Date

Tunnel Specifications

The Utilidor Tunnel is a 12-foot diameter, 115-foot long tunnel connecting the new Central Utility Plant on the northwest corner of the intersection to the new Patient Care Tower on the southeast corner.

Tunnel Construction

The tunnel was mined through very dense glacial till by the pipe jacking method. Potential utility conflicts buried beneath the roadway included multiple underground electric lines, water mains, storm drains, a sanitary sewer, fiber optic communications, and two natural gas lines just three feet above the designed crown elevation.

At the completion of mining the tunnel, the annular space produced by a small overcut from the tunnel shield was grouted to prevent future subsidence and to ensure the development of ring thrust that the primary steel liner relies upon for stiffness.