Project Details

Client: Mortenson
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Services:  Excavation, Building Demolition, Earth Retention, Site Utilities

Overview

The Abbott Northwestern Care Pavilion project is a key development aimed at expanding the Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s facilities to meet growing healthcare demands. The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art care pavilion building, connected to the hospital’s infrastructure through several new features designed to improve access, workflow, and functionality.

The project includes the construction of a new skyway connecting the purple ramp to the Care Pavilion building, excavation work for the new foundations, and a new tunnel system to connect the Care Pavilion to the existing TAF (Technology and Administrative Facilities) building. The scope also involves underpinning existing structures.

Currently the largest scope of work on the project is the construction of a new cast-in-place tunnel. This is an essential feature of the Abbott Northwestern Care Pavilion project. This tunnel will connect the Care Pavilion building to the TAF building, facilitating the movement of utilities and providing additional access between the two structures under 28th street. Bolander is responsible for constructing the retention systems, underpinning the existing structures including micro piles and soil solidification and excavation for the tunnel. The tunnel construction process requires careful planning to not disrupt hospital functionality. This phase of construction is critical due to the need to work between two important buildings without disrupting the ongoing operations of the hospital.

While Bolander has completed projects like this in the past this tunnel project has some unique features that have made it challenging to both design and excavate. An example of the complexity includes supporting an Xcel duct bank that is encasing a transmission line servicing a large portion of Minneapolis that cannot be taken out of service. The section of concrete duct bank that is being supported temporarily is 4’-6” wide x 2’-6” tall and spans 64’.  With all the beams needed to support this duct and the other utilities running over the tunnel excavation with traditional methods is near impossible. To remove material in this area Bolander purchased a small conveyor system to speed up the process.