I-70 Eisenhower Johnson Memorial Tunnel Drainage, Pumping & Heat Trace Design-Build

Drainage, Pumping & Heat Trace Evaluation

About the Project

The I-70 corridor is the only east-west interstate to cross Colorado and is a major corridor for regional and national commerce, recreational traffic, and access to the mountain communities. The I-70 Eisenhower Johnson Memorial Tunnel (EJMT) provides a critically important component of this corridor for Colorado.

Originally constructed in the 1970’s, the existing water supply and drainage lines within the EJMT have ongoing issues, and are prone to leaks, ruptures and freezing. This project will repair or replace multiple systems within EJMT to upgrade the facility and ensure that it can operate to current standards utilizing a design-built project delivery method.

The goals for the project are:

  1. Provide an innovative design solution that is durable, historically proven, easily maintained, and compatible with current and future improvements in the EJMT.
  2. Maximize the construction scope of the proposed design solution within the project budget.
  3. Minimize impacts to the traveling public, EJMT operations, and the EJMT fire life safety systems during construction and for the lifecycle of the constructed improvements.
  4. Meet and exceed the project requirements.
  5. Minimize the project delivery time.

Project Budget: $15 to $20 million

Project Schedule

Request for Qualifications: Aug. 5, 2021
Statement of Qualifications Due: Sept. 16, 2021 | Noon (MST)
Shortlisted Design-Build Teams Announced: Oct. 14, 2021
Draft RFP Issued: Oct. 21, 2021
Final RFP Issued: Dec. 16, 2021
Proposals Due: Feb. 24, 2022 | Noon (MST)
Notice of Award: March 31, 2022
Anticipated NTP: May 12, 2022


Project Scope of Work

The following items may be included in the project scope of work, pending budget approval and further discussions with tunnel maintenance. 

  • New fire department hose connections in the north tunnel 
    • Construct new fire department connections in north tunnel wall.
  • New fire department hose connections in the south tunnel
    • Construct new fire department connections in south tunnel wall. 
  • New domestic water supply line to connect the west portal to the east portal
    • Construct a new galvanized steel waterline to supply water to the east portal from the treatment facility in the west portal. This will include a new pipe in the plenum, pipe insulation and heat tape, and a booster pump or other proposed alternative/innovative solutions.
  • Two 8" PVC seep mains in the north tunnel and two 12" seep mains in the south tunnel
    • Develop a solution to prevent freezing of seep mains by replacing the heat tape or providing a proposed alternative/innovative solution.
  • One 6" ductile iron roadway drain collector in the north tunnel
    • Potential to add heat tape or proposed alternative to prevent freeze of the current collection system.
  • Emergency generators
    • Provide new emergency backup generator system consisting of two 2MW, 25kV diesel generators in a sound attenuated weather proof enclosure located at the west portal along with supporting infrastructure and electrical distribution equipment that will replace the current emergency backup generators. New generator enclosure shall meet the mountain corridor aesthetic guidelines.
  • Exterior roof drains
    • Project to replace existing heat tape with new heat tape on exterior roof drains. Identify, inspect, maintain and label existing branch circuiting.
    • Install new controls to interface with the new heat tape monitoring system.
  • Water treatment 
    • Water treatment plant upgrades consisting of installation of membrane filter system at each plant.
  • Ventilation fans
    • Air supply/exhaust fan motor rebuild consisting of rewinding/rebuilding for the existing 16 fans.
  • Electrical
    • Remove all existing heat tape, controls and branch circuiting, and to replace with new heat tape in the north and south tunnel areas listed above to provide a safe and functional area for travelers along the I-70 corridor.

The proposed engineered solutions for these systems will be:

  • Cost effective
  • Durable
  • Provide a minimum 20-year service life
  • Allow for phased implementation (as necessary)
  • Reduce impacts to the traveling public
  • Allow easy maintenance and access for CDOT maintenance crews and external inspection partners