Kiewit's California operations began in 1945 with work on the $40 million Friant-Kern canal. In 1966, a Kiewit-led joint venture began construction of the most notable project in the area at the time, the $90 million BART Rapid Transit Tube Tunnel between San Francisco and Oakland.
After completion of the BART Tube Tunnel in 1969, the Northern California District was established with an office in Concord, California, northeast of San Francisco. During the district's first several years, the majority of its work was highway-related.
In 1973, the district was reorganized and combined with the West Coast Marine District. This reorganization led to several new areas of responsibility, including precast concrete operations in Richmond and Pleasanton, and a pile driving and cofferdam construction operation.
In the early 1980s, grading and site development operations began. Notable mass grading projects include the $1 million Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, the $64 million Los Vaqueros Dam in Contra Costa County and the $33 million reconstruction of El Portal Road in Yosemite National Park, the Federal Highway Administration's first design-build project. In the past five years, the district has completed more than $150 million of site development work in and around the Sacramento area.
In the late 1980s, the district began working on sewage projects and established its water treatment plant expertise. Notable projects include the $11 million Woodland Water Treatment Plant, the $54 million Oakland Wastewater Treatment Plant, the $22 million Point Isabel Water Treatment Plant and the $96 million Pleasant Grove Wastewater Treatment Plant.
After the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, the district performed significant highway and bridge reconstruction work, including the $36 million Highway 238/580 Interstate near Concord and the $122 million Cypress E and $59 million Cypress F projects. In cooperation with other Kiewit operations, the district is currently constructing the $1.0+ billion San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge East Span and the $300+ million Benicia-Martinez Bridge between Martinez and Benicia.
Presently, the precast division supplies precast piling and other precast, prestressed concrete products, such as I-girders, to general contractors. The precast division operates as Kie-Con in California. In addition, the pile driving division serves as a subcontractor to other general contractors.
Most recently, the district has been performing rail and transit work with the completion of the $41 million Amtrak West Maintenance Facility in Oakland and the $39 million Sunrise to Folsom Light Rail Extension in Sacramento.