Washington Closure Hanford finalist for award

Washington Closure Hanford is one of three finalists for the Project Management Institute’s 2015 Project of the Year for its decade-long effort to clean up the Hanford nuclear reservation along the Columbia River.

The winner will be announced next month. Other finalists are an Oregon project to overhaul bridges and a California project to transport massive oil refinery coke drums.

The work along the Columbia River at Hanford was done under a $1.9 billion Department of Energy contract and included removing 10 million tons of contaminated soil and debris as of 2014.

“It came in under budget, saving taxpayers $227 million, while helping to transform a toxic legacy of war into scenic beauty for future (access) to all,” said the write up in Project Management Institute Network magazine.

This story was originally published September 9, 2015 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Washington Closure Hanford finalist for award."