Time Is of the Essence—How St. Johns County Fast-Tracked 15 mi of Pipeline Improvements

St. Johns County Utility Department (SJCUD) embarked on the State Road 207 Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) and Associated Improvements project to accommodate future growth and system expansion and comply with the requirements of Florida Senate Bill 64, dictating elimination of non-beneficial surface water discharges of effluent. The project represents the largest capital improvement project undertaken by SJCUD, and they utilized the progressive design-build project delivery model primarily to increase collaboration and innovation and meet accelerated schedule requirements. The $191.8 million dollar project includes a 3.25 mgd greenfield water reclamation facility, offsite reclaimed water storage tank and booster pump station, offsite wastewater master pump station, and 15 mi of offsite reclaimed water and wastewater force main pipelines ranging from 16″ to 30″ diameter, which is the focus of this paper. The reclaimed water pipelines and booster pump station are part of an innovative plan by SJCUD to eliminate surface water discharge and create a reclaimed water supply grid to increase water reuse and enhance overall effluent management. SJCUD selected a design-build team led by Jacobs and included JB Coxwell Contracting, Inc., as a pipeline subcontractor. The offsite pipelines were broken into 15 segments to facilitate design, permitting, and an accelerated construction schedule. The design-build delivery format allowed for collaborative design and construction approaches, starting in the pursuit phase and continuing throughout all delivery phases of the project. Nearly 50 easements were required along the pipeline route, with the design-build project team meeting biweekly to facilitate the easement acquisition process. The project included 15 trenchless crossings utilizing horizontal directional drilling and pilot tube guided auger boring. The open-cut and trenchless designs were tailored to accommodate constructability and value engineering input of the pipeline subcontractor and specialty trenchless subcontractors. This collaboration was key to defining easement locations, traffic control needs, permitting efforts, and cost and schedule efficiency. Of particular challenge, a railroad crossing for a parallel water main and force main installation within a narrow right-of-way for a dead-end street. The right-of-way includes multiple existing utilities and requires a lane of traffic to be maintained at all times. Parallel pilot tube guided auger boring from the same launch and receiving pits was selected to meet the railroad's requirements and space constraints. The project began in September 2022 and is on budget and scheduled to be completed on time in April 2026. The paper details the benefits of the design-build team's collaborative approach and provides an overview of the project through the design and construction phases.