SEATTLE – The Port of Seattle, Sound Transit, and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced their 2016 Champion of Inclusion Awards last night, recognizing the work of prime contractors who have demonstrated continuous commitment to working with small businesses. The three public agencies undertake many capital projects each year and they share common goals to increase small-business paricipation in that work. In addition, the agencies look for every opportunity to support minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses.
Port of Seattle
The Port currently has more than 80 major capital projects in design, construction or closeout, including $2 billion in work at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. This year’s winner, Tetra Tech, is working on the design and landscaping for the modernization of the Shilshole Bay Marina Customer Service Facility. Without being required to, Tetra Tech has committed to expend about 30 percent of the contract with small businesses. In fact, four of their five sub-contractors on the project are small businesses.
Sound Transit
McMillen Jacobs Associates is being honored as a Champion of Inclusion for its exceptional efforts to include small and disadvantaged businesses on our Northgate Link project. Sound Transit established a 17.4 percent small business utilization goal for this project. McMillen Jacobs Associates exceeded that, with 18.4 percent overall small-business utilization, of which 14 percent are disadvantaged businesses. In total, McMillen Jacobs Associates drove close to $16 million to small business and more than $12 million of that to disadvantaged businesses.
WSDOT
Atkinson Construction is being honored as a Champion of Inclusion by the Washington State Department of Transportation for its achievements in employing disadvantaged, minority and women-owned firms on state highway construction projects. As prime contractor on seven WSDOT projects during the past three years, Atkinson Construction has used 38 different firms, of which 65 percent were used voluntarily. Atkinson has also been an active participant on WSDOT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Advisory Group, which is working to enhance the agency’s DBE Program.
The seventh annual Champion of Inclusion Awards were held Nov. 9 at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
