Excavation Finalized at 2+U Development in Downtown Seattle

SEATTLE, Wash. – Skanska recently completed excavation operations at 2+U, a 38-story Class A office tower in Seattle, Washington and the only downtown office building coming online in 2019.

The excavation for 2+U began in April 2017 with the help of more than 60 skilled construction professionals dedicating approximately 40,000 work hours to achieve this milestone. Skanska conducted the bulk of its excavation and hauling operations at night to minimize disruptions to the downtown community, and to focus on sustainability and safety. With trucks on the road at night, Skanska minimized its carbon footprint since trucks would spend less time stuck in daytime traffic. Night excavation operations also served as a precaution that limited pedestrian and community exposure to any potential safety issues.

As part of the excavation process:

• Construction teams removed 120,000 cubic yards of soil and rock weighing 171,000 tons from the site – enough to put a 15-foot layer of soil on top of the playing surface at CenturyLink Field
• Skanska repurposed nearly 7,100 cubic yards of soil to be utilized on another construction site
• Crews installed 130 soldier piles, 530 tie backs and 55,000 square feet of lagging to create the framework for the installation of the foundation
• The final depth of the excavation is 80 feet on 2nd Avenue and 50 feet on 1st Avenue, providing four levels of underground parking for approximately 476 vehicles