White House Builds Underground Super Bunker–Took 4 Years To Complete–What Are They Preparing For?Wednesday, February 20, 2013 14:27

(Before It's News)

by Monica Davis

A massive 4 year White House construction project has finally been completed. The deep, underground project continues to be shrowded in secrecy and has reportedly been planned for 40 years..

Given that the president has so many fortified hidey holes, why was this one buit? What does it's construction really mean for the security of the most powerful man in the world?

The White House Big Dig is finally wrapping up, but the Big Reveal is proving to be a pretty big letdown.

After nearly two years and $86 million worth of noisy and disruptive construction, the West Wing has emerged from its visual seclusion remarkably unchanged. And deep underground, whatever has been built there remains shrouded in mystery.

Plus, if you ask what the next phase is in this massive, four-year project, the official answer is “TBD” — to be determined.Read more:

Most interesting, though, is the fact that insiders say this is not a done deal. Sources say the next phase is to be determined. Now, what does that mean?

Are we anticipating urban unrest, a foreign attack, extraterrestrial invasion? What?

According to the White House, the construction project is a tunnel system and command center and has been planned for decades.

Building Our New West Wing Underground Command Center

Since the early 1960's, the need for a Deep Underground Command Center (DUCC) has been studied. This Top Secret 1963 memo outlined the requirements for the construction of a DUCC. Because of limits in technology at that time, the project was deferred. Fifty years later, the DUCC is finally becoming a reality.

The new underground command center serves two purposes: 1) To protect key people with sufficient staff and data to render critical decisions and 2) Ensure the survival of the facility to allow dissemination of these decisions. The DUCC can only serve this purpose if the President and his team can secretly relocate there on very short notice.

Unlike the old Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) which is currently located below the East Wing of the White House, the new secret command center will house its own massive communications data center that interfaces with all military, intelligence, and critical federal agency systems. For security purposes, the exact specifications of the this command bunker are classified.

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2013/02/white-house-builds-underground-super-bunker-took-4-years-to-complete-what-are-they-preparing-for-2571820.html

Politics

White House Big Dig wraps up, but the project remains shrouded in mystery After nearly two years and $86 million worth of major construction, the West Wing of the White House appears unchanged regardless of whatever has been built deep underground.

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012, 9:46 AM

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CHARLES DHARAPAK/APConstruction in front of the West Wing at the White House in

Washington.RELATED STORIESBill Clinton's Running Habit: A Secret Service Nightmare

The White House Big Dig is finally wrapping up, but the Big Reveal is proving to be a pretty big

letdown.

After nearly two years and $86 million worth of noisy and disruptive construction, the West Wing has

emerged from its visual seclusion remarkably unchanged. And deep underground, whatever has

been built there remains shrouded in mystery.

Plus, if you ask what the next phase is in this massive, four-year project, the official answer is “TBD”

— to be determined.

The construction project — officially a long overdue upgrade of White House utilities — began in

September 2010 with the excavation of a huge, multistory pit in front of the West Wing, wrapping

around to include West Executive Avenue, the street that separates the White House from the

Eisenhower Executive Office Building. A tall, green construction fence sprang up that blocked

America’s most famous office complex from public view.

But now the fence has come down, revealing the familiar whitewashed sandstone facade and the

lone Marine guard who stands watch at the entrance to the West Wing lobby.

Bulldozers have covered up the hole. Contractors have repaved the asphalt driveway. National Park

Service crews are mostly finished re-grading, re-sodding and replanting. Their goal has been to

return the area to its original appearance.

So what, exactly, did all the digging, hammering, welding and concrete-pouring accomplish?

The General Services Administration, which oversaw the work, said it was to replace aging water

and steam lines, sewers, storm sewers and electrical wiring conduits. Heating, air conditioning and

fire control equipment also are being updated, officials said.

However, what reporters and photographers saw during the construction appeared to go well

beyond that: a sprawling, multistory structure whose underground assembly required truckload after

truckload of heavy-duty concrete and steel beams.

PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/AP

Ground crews finish up renovations to the grounds around the North Lawn of the White House.

The GSA maintains this structure is merely “facilitating” the utility work. But neither the agency nor

the administration will elaborate on its function. Last year, when the project began, GSA officials

denied the construction was for additional office space or another bomb shelter. The existing White

House bunker, known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, is under the East Wing and

dates to the Roosevelt administration.

The GSA went to great lengths to keep the work secret, not only putting up the fence around the

excavation site but ordering subcontractors not to talk to anyone and to tape over company info on

trucks pulling into the White House gates.

Meantime, for most of those who work in the West Wing, the project has been a huge headache.

Sometimes literally.

It’s meant shouting to be heard over jackhammers and backhoes, and long walks on arching ramps

to circumvent the extensive work zone. The GSA even built a temporary concrete-and-steel platform

to elevate TV reporters and their cameras so the White House North Portico could still be seen over

the fence. The platform, like the fence, is now gone. And no one’s happier than West Wing denizens

whose windows were blocked off.

“Now that the sights and sounds of construction workers and their equipment are gone, my outlook

on the North Lawn of the White House has, literally, brightened,” said deputy press secretary Josh

Earnest.

But the respite may be short-lived.

MANUEL BALCE CENETA/AP

New sod is laid, the driveway repaved, and big holes that once marred the North Lawn of the White

House are gone.

Future phases of the project, whose total price tag tops $376 million, are expected to involve more

excavation elsewhere on the North Lawn — the well-groomed park that tourists see from the fence

on Pennsylvania Avenue — and possibly inside the East and West wings. GSA officials say wrap-up

work is actually continuing on the underground utilities, albeit out of sight.

And they resolutely refuse to identify the next major work area, or to say when that construction will

begin.

“The scope of any additional work in the West and East wings has not been determined, so the

timing, obviously, hasn’t been finalized,” said agency spokeswoman Mafara Hobson.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/white-house-big-dig-wraps-project-remains-shrouded-mystery-article-1.1158343

CMc - West and East Wing Infrastructure Systems ReplacementSolicitation Number: GS-11P-09-MKC-0122

Agency: General Services AdministrationOffice: Public Buildings Service (PBS)Location: Property Development Division (WPC)

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Notice Details

Packages

Interested Vendors List

Note:

There have been modifications to this notice. You are currently viewing the original synopsis. To view the most recent

modification/amendment, click here

Opportunity History

Complete

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Original

Synopsis

Sep 02, 2009

5:16 pm

Changed

Sep 16, 2009

3:52 pm

Award

Jan 22, 2010

7:41 pm

Solicitation Number:

GS-11P-09-MKC-0122

Notice Type:

Presolicitation

Synopsis:

Added: Sep 02, 2009 5:16 pm

The General Services Administration (GSA) intends to issue a Request For Proposal

(RFP) for a Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc) to perform construction

services on the West and East Wing Infrastructure Systems Replacement project in

Washington, DC. This is a classified project and each offeror shall possess the

appropriate facility clearance and safeguarding capability in order to be considered

eligible to bid upon this project and be issued a solicitation package. It is anticipated

that classified technical data and documentation, up to the level of Top Secret will be

utilized. The project is anticipated to be awarded in January 2010 and will be

performed in three Phases with each subsequent Phase extending services and

systems of the entire project. The estimated construction cost range of the entire

project is $150 to $300 million dollar. GSA intends to negotiate the award of a

Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) Contract for the Construction Manager as

Constructor (CMc) Services. All work will be performed in accordance with GSA

authorized and approved standards. The selection process will utilize source

selection procedures in accordance with FAR Part 15.3. The selection procedure will

employ tradeoffs and the technical/management factors are considered to be

significantly more important than price and price related factors.

The four technical factors are described hereinafter.

FACTOR 1: Past Performance - Offerors must demonstrate successful experience

as a CMc on at least two (2) similar projects completed within the past (8) years.

Definition of Similar project is: "a project comparable in scope of work and on

occupied and fully functional facilities and sites, as well as with construction

adjacencies."

All similar projects must meet the type and complexity of all the following

characteristics: (1)The project involved a new utility pathway, utility infrastructure,

heavy sitework, new building and/or renovations to an existing building that included

significant classified scope of work (including Top Secret) incorporating civil,

architectural, historic preservation, structural, electrical, emergency power,

telecommunications/IT, physical security, mechanical, plumbing, and fire protection

systems; (2) The project required coordination to maintain continuity of operations in

all occupied spaces of the existing building and/or adjacent building along with

maintaining all existing utilities during construction;(3) The project involved

environmental controls that included but were not limited to dust and noise control;

(4) The project involved secured site access and a restricted site with limited space

for material staging along with the requirement to maintain pedestrian and vehicular

traffic flow around the site;(5) The total project construction cost at time of contract

award was not less than $50 million.

FACTOR 2: Key Personnel

FACTOR 3: Understanding of Requirements/Management Approach/Subcontracting

Plan/Schedule

FACTOR 4: Apprenticeship Plan.

This solicitation will be open to both small and large business firms under the Small

Business Demonstration Test Program. The small business size standard for the

procurement (NAICS 236220) in accordance with FAR 19.1 is average "annual

receipts" of $31.0 million. Joint Ventures (JV) shall be allowed to participate if the

joint venture submits one (1) copy of the executed joint venture agreement and the

joint venture holds all security requirements under said JV firm (not individual firms).

The RFP will be issued on/about October 15, 2009 and proposals will be due 30

calendar days after RFP issuance.

If your firm has an interest in being considered for this project, then you MUST

SUBMIT by No Later Than 5 October 2009 at 2:00 PM via email,

mary.pineda@gsa.gov, a written "LETTER OF INTEREST" along with the following

SECURITY CLEARANCE INFORMATION:

1) Requesting Offeror's Name, Address, DUNS # and Telephone #

2) Assigned Cage Code

3) Offeror's Security Officer's name, address, email and phone information

4) Offeror's Cognizant Security Office name, address and phone information

5) Certification of the level of the facility clearance offeror holds and date clearance

received

NOTE: Joint Ventures must indicate the above information for the JV entity not

individual firms

Contracting Office Address:

7th and D Streets, S.W., Room 2002

Washington, District of Columbia 20407

Place of Performance:

Washington, District of Columbia 20407

United States

Primary Point of Contact.:

Mary Pineda,

Contracting Officer

mary.pineda@gsa.gov

Phone: 202-205-8468

Fax: 202-260-7650

Secondary Point of Contact:

Kasey Lehman,

Contracting Specialist

kasey.lehman@gsa.gov

Phone: 202-401-1787

Fax: 202-260-7650

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=b929dfc8207cd2e456c3849dfa6148a6&_cview=0