Location:
Lower Baker Dam, WA
Owner:
Puget Sound Energy
Construction Cost:
$70,000,000
Role:
Planning/Feasibility, Preliminary Design, Construction Management, Geotechnical Characterization
Lower Baker Unit 4 Powerhouse Project
To maximize the use of water resources for power generation, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is building an additional powerhouse at Lower Baker Dam. The project consists of new construction of an approximately 1,000-foot-long (305 m), 12-foot (3.6 m) internal diameter power tunnel, an underground connection to an existing power tunnel, and a new 30 MW powerhouse along the east shoreline of the Baker River, downstream of the Lower Baker Dam, a 285-foot-high (87 m) concrete arch structure. The Baker River originates in the North Cascades and flows southward along the east flank of Mt. Baker to join the Skagit River at the town of Concrete, WA. The dam and existing power tunnel were constructed in 1925 to generate hydroelectric power for northwestern Washington and provide flood-control storage for Skagit Valley.
PSE has selected a Design/Build (D/B) form of contract for the project. Jacobs Associates performed preliminary design of the new tunnel and powerhouse excavation. Our services also include geologic mapping and drilling explorations to characterize the rock mass for tunnel and powerhouse design, preparation of D/B plans and performance specifications, preparation of a geotechnical baseline report, cost estimating, review of D/B proposals, and services during construction.
