Early Morning Delivery to South Shaft Site - Tuesday, August 10th

Early Morning Delivery to South Shaft Site - Tuesday, August 10th
In the early morning of Tuesday, August 10th, at approximately 1 or 2 am, a large semi-truck and flatbed trailer will arrive at the South Shaft site off of Polhemus Road and park near the office trailers. A large, special pipe section is being delivered. Because of the size of the load, the truck must travel during nighttime hours only. The truck will pull into the main gate, drive up the paved road to the office trailer parking lot, the truck will be shut down, and will remain parked there until 7:00 am or later at which time the truck will be unloaded when the workday begins.

Several California Highway Patrol cars will accompany this special permit truck load. The Highway Patrol will temporarily close Polhemus Road for a few minutes during the delivery and reopen it as soon as the truck is off the road. Because this will take place during early morning hours, traffic delays are not anticipated.

Every effort will be made to avoid noise during delivery so not to disrupt neighbors.

ALERT: Power Cable May Cause Firecracker-Like Noise on August 5th at 10 A.M.

ALERT: Power Cable May Cause Firecracker-Like Noise on August 5th at 10 A.M.

On Thursday, August 5th, at approximately 10 a.m., the contractor will pull a power and communication cable across the creek from Polhemus Road to the North Shaft site, located on Crystal Springs Road near the intersection with Polhemus. The contractor anticipates that the activity will generate a single, loud blast sound, similar to that of a firecracker. Since the work will be near the creek, it will be monitored by a service approved biologist. Temporary road closures or traffic delays are not anticipated. All necessary safety measure will be in place.

What: Firecracker-like noise associated with cable installation.

When: Approximately 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 5, 2010

Where: Near the intersection of Polhemus Road and Crystal Springs Road

Impacts to Neighbors: some neighbors may hear the firecracker-like noise. Traffic and road closures are not anticipated. Watch the blog listed below for updates. The activity is not expected to cause any vibration to nearby structures.

New Crystal Springs Bypass Tunnel project at 79% Completion!

Great news! As of the end of June 2010, the New Crystal Springs Bypass Tunnel project has reached 79% completion! The project team reports we are making excellent progress.

Installation and welding of steel pipe in the tunnel took only 4 weeks, which was less than half the time anticipated, and was completed at the end of May. Placement of backfill around the tunnel pipe was completed last week. After pipe cleaning, vertical pipe will be installed and backfilled in the South Shaft and contact grouting will be performed.

Here is a great photo taken from the bottom of the South Shaft site. Workers are guiding the new pipeline into the tunnel. You can see just how large this pipeline is when you look at these 6 foot tall men standing next to it!

Remember, you can call our 24 hour, toll free number if you ever have a question or a concern at any time of the day or night. We are here to help. The number is 866-973-1476.

Additional Dust Control Measures

With the beautiful summer weather finally here, the project team has added additional sprinklers at the South Shaft site to further control dust.

The project team will continue to monitor dust and adjust control measures as needed.

If you're concerned about dust or have any comments, feel free to contact our staff anytime at 650-212-0165 or 24 hours, 7 days a week toll free at 866-973-1476.

South Shaft Activity

There will be new activity at the South Shaft Site beginning Wednesday morning.

The contractor will be installing shoring for the excavations necessary to install a new pipeline. Strict vibration criteria and monitoring will be followed throughout the process, so the construction management team does not expect much noise.

Just wanted to let you know because you may see some changes on the work site. Of course, let us know if you have questions or concerns.

SFPUC and Shank/Balfour Beatty Sponsor Pipeline Confined Space Rescue Training on Peninsula

This Spring, representatives from several Peninsula fire agencies participated in a rescue training exercise within a vault and pipeline being constructed by Shank/Balfour Beatty, the contractor on the New Crystal Springs Bypass Tunnel project in San Mateo.

The training exercise simulated a medical emergency in which a pipeline worker suffered a heart attack while painting a 60-inch diameter butterfly valve within the pipeline. None of the firefighters had ever been inside any of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's (SFPUC) pipelines or vaults.

Firefighters arrived on site, were briefed by the contractor’s liaison, and then performed a permit-required confined space entry. Medics provide initial treatment to the “victim” adjacent to the valve, then packaged and transitioned the victim through a 24-inch diameter manhole into the vault. Due to limited overhead clearance, the “victim” was again transitioned and hoisted through a hatch in the roof deck where he was treated by the medical team and prepared for air transport. The training exercise was completed in about 2 hours.

Carl Kustin, Lead Instructor for trainers Lea & Associates, said “The SFPUC and Shank/Balfour Beatty provided a once in a lifetime opportunity for firefighters to train in an environment where SFPUC employees and contractors work every day. We hope there’s NEVER a need for our services, but when that time comes, the firefighters in this class are much better prepared to quickly access an injured pipeline worker. This was an exceptional training day!”

Representatives from the following agencies participated in the training: San Mateo Fire Department, South San Francisco Fire Department, Burlingame Fire Department, Central (San Mateo) County Fire, Mountain View Fire Department, South (San Mateo) County Fire, Menlo Park Fire District, San Jose Fire Department, SF General Hospital, and the California Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 3 (Menlo Park).

Join us for Coffee on May 20th - tomorrow!

Join us for a Community Coffee at Starbucks on May 20th

Please join us for coffee and casual discussion on Thursday, May 20th from 9:30am to 11am at Starbucks Coffee in Crystal Springs Village, located at 100 De Anza Blvd, #111, San Mateo.

Chat with the project team, ask questions and learn more about this project. Free coffee! Yippee!