Overview The ECIM Project will replace and upgrade the obsolete and aging communications backbone of Technical Area I with state-of-the-art, reliable, high-speed, high-bandwidth telecommunication lines. The project will also involve “behind the scenes” cut over of systems from existing fiber optic cables to the new cable infrastructure and will upgrade Sandia’s intrusion alarms and access control lines. The limited capacity, lessening reliability, and increasing maintenance problems of Area I’s old communications infrastructure, compounded by a surge in new and emerging requirements, led to the need for a major telecommunications system upgrade. The urgency to upgrade eventually reached a critical point with NNSA’s rapidly expanding mission work, which requires huge volumes of data to be transferred quickly and efficiently among collaborating groups.

Details This project includes communication, water, natural gas, and sewer utility upgrades. Only the communication duct bank system will be performed by GARDNER ZEMKE forces. This system consists of 14,000 linear feet of 5” duct bank (175,000’ of pipe total). The duct bank varies from 6’ to 16’ deep, and we intend to prefab a large percentage of the duct bank at our own facility. There will be a total of 51 manholes installed, some of which are 20’ deep. All other utility work will be performed by Subcontractors.