The Silicon Valley Clean Water Gravity (SVCW) Pipeline Project is the first tunneling project in the United States to use the progressive design-build model.

SVCW’s existing force main sewer system was constructed more than 45 years ago and was designed to last between 25-50 years. Additionally, due to significant population growth in the San Francisco Bay service area, their system experiences roughly three times more pressure than it was designed for. Over the past decade, failures in their system led to the leaking of wastewater in the streets and the San Francisco Bay. To address these failures, SVCW joined in a progressive design-build agreement with Barnard Bessac JV to design and construct 3.3 miles of a 16-foot-diameter gravity pipeline tunnel to replace their existing system. Among its many benefits, the progressive design-build procurement model helped the team determine design direction, align the scheduling approach, manage project risks, and achieve a final project cost within SVCW's budget.