Irving, Texas - Cottonwood & Hackberry Creek Wastewater Interceptor Improvements

2023 North American Microtunneling Job Log

The 2023 North American Microtunneling Job Log offers readers a look at some of the planned, ongoing and recently completed microtunneling projects in North America.

The North American Microtunneling Job Log is part of Trenchless Technology’s annual Microtunneling Review section that highlights recent projects and advancements in the North American microtunneling sector.

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To submit your project to the Microtunneling Job Log, email Jim Rush, Trenchless Technology editorial consultant, at jrush@benjaminmedia.com.

UNITED STATES

CALIFORNIA

San Diego

Morena Pump Station and Conveyance Project
Flatiron/Ward & Burke

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The Morena Pump Station and Conveyance Project is a key and major component to the City of San Diego’s Pure Water Program, a multi-phase project that aims to ultimately provide more than 40 percent of San Diego’s water locally by the end of 2035. Currently, San Diego imports much of its water from sources elsewhere in Northern California, as well as from the Colorado River.

The raw sewage pumping station will be connected to receive incoming sewage flows from three existing large diameter underground trunk sewer pipelines. To get the pump’s infrastructure connected to those lines, Flatiron and its subcontractor Ward & Burke Tunneling will install more than 4,800 lf of PVC-lined, reinforced concrete pipeline utilizing microtunneling techniques. Connecting the pump station to the existing pipelines will be done under “full flow” conditions utilizing an advanced sewer bypass system that was designed and perfected by our own engineers to handle flows upwards of 36 million gallons per day.
An extensive dewatering effort will be carried out more than 40 ft below the existing groundwater table. Building the station’s structure itself will require excavations as deep as 55 ft below existing grade. Final project completion is expected in 2025.

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COLORADO

Denver

Bradshaw Construction Corp. recently completed tunneling on the PAR 1232 Second Creek Interceptor project in Denver. The wastewater interceptor includes a number of trenchless crossings; of which Bradshaw Construction installed eight trenchless crossings, totaling over 4,100 lf, by the microtunneling method. Tunnel crossings ranged from 48-in. steel casing to 73.5-in. steel casing, with drive lengths reaching 1,500 lf on the longest crossing. FRP from 36 to 60-in. is being installed and backfilled once tunneling operations are completed. The tunnels were installed out of steel sheeted shafts, installed by Lawrence Construction Co. The challenging project geology consisted of multiple mix face conditions with claystone and sandstone overlaid by coarse and fine alluvium, underneath the water table. Tunnels passed underneath roads, highways, UPRR and BNSF tracks. To date, Bradshaw Construction Corporation has successfully completed the tunnel installations and is in the process of installing 36-in. FRP in the final tunnel.

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The project members include Metro Wastewater Reclamation District (Owner), HDR Engineering, Inc. (Engineer), Garney Construction (CMAR), and Bradshaw Construction Corporation working as tunneling subcontractor.

Information: Jordan Bradshaw – Project Manager, Jordan.bradshaw@bradshawcc.com.

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FLORIDA

Loxahatchee

C-51 Reservoir
Bradshaw Construction Corp.

Bradshaw Construction Corp. has recently completed construction on a private job for Palm Beach Aggregates Inc., situated on an active mine. All work was immediately adjacent to both Florida Power and Light Company (FPL) and Gulfstream Natural Gas utility easements. Bradshaw’s scope of work consisted of twin 956 lf tunnels that were mined out of a single 37 ft x 28 ft steel sheeted launch shaft utilizing 96-in. FRP Jacking Pipe behind an AVND 1800AB MTBM. Ground conditions encountered showed signed of mixed reach/mixed face, which transitioned between sand and limestone throughout both drives, all under the water table. The project was successfully completed in December. Project members include Palm Beach Aggregates (Owner), North Star / Black and Veatch (Design Engineers), Phillips and Jordan (General Contractor) and Bradshaw Construction Corporation working as the tunneling subcontractor.
Project Information: Chris Flanagan – Project Manager; CFlanagan@bradshawcc.com.

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Tampa

Harbour Island Force Main Replacement Project
Vadnais Trenchless Services

The City of Tampa is building a new force main connecting downtown to the wastewater treatment plant to place an existing line that has exceeded its design life. Kimmins Contracting Corp. was selected as the GC on a progressive design-build contract with Vadnais Trenchless Services, a Primoris company, serving as the microtunneling contractor.

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The project included a 3,156-lf, 78-in. diameter tunnel under the Ybor Turning Basin using an MTS 1970 MTBM. The equipment setup included 6 intermediate jacking stations and 78 automatic lube stations. The geology primarily consisted of sediments overlying and intermixed with limestone. The project included two shafts – a launch shaft and reception shaft. The secant pile shafts, constructed by Keller, were 75 ft deep.

The tunnel used Tri-Loc steel casing pipe from Trinity Products. Challenges included the arrival of Hurricane Ian during tunneling in September 2022, which resulted in a one-week shutdown of the jobsite.
Owner: City of Tampa; General Contractor: Kimmins Contracting Corp.; Microtunneling Contractor: Vadnais Trenchless Services; Shaft construction: Keller; Engineer: Wade Trim; Microtunneling Consultant: Brierley Associates; MTBM: MTS.

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MASSACHUSETTS

Lynn

Phase 3 West Lynn Sewer Separation Project No. CWSRF-4488
Super Excavators, Inc.

Super Excavators Inc. is performing the microtunneling aspects of Phase 3 West Lynn Sewer Separation Project No. CWSRF-4488, located in Lynn on behalf of a local contractor. The owner is the Lynn Water & Sewer Commission. Stantec is the engineer.

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The microtunneling operations encompass two tunnel drives, both conducted within soft ground conditions. The initial tunnel drive spans 940 lf and involves a 74-in. steel casing, while the subsequent drive covers 110 lf of 72-in. RCP.

The project site access and space is particularly limited on this project due to being in a very congested area. The anticipated start date if fall 2023. Crews will use an Akkerman SL-74C. The project value is approximately $5 million.

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NEBRASKA

Omaha

Copper Creek Sewer Interceptor Relocation
Super Excavators, Inc.

The City of Omaha and Douglas County have finalized the relocation of a section of the Papillion Creek Interceptor located near the confluence of Big Papillion Creek and Copper Creek and the Big Papillion Creek levee. The project will begin west of an aerial crossing of Copper Creek near 52nd Street and Robin Drive in the City of Bellevue in Sarpy County. The project includes the construction of a three-barrel siphon (66-, 48- and 42 in. in diameter) across Copper Creek utilizing microtunneling methodology. Super Excavators, Inc. will be performing the tunneling work as a subcontractor to a local contractor. Alfred Benesch & Company is the engineer. The approximate value of microtunneling is $5 million.

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Crews will be using Akkerman SL-36C, Akkerman SL-51C, and Akkerman SL-60C MTBMs. Anticipated start date is fall 2023.

NORTH CAROLINA

Charlotte

Dairy Branch Tributary
Bradshaw Construction Corp.

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Bradshaw Construction Corp. has completed construction on sanitary sewer tunnels in Charlotte. The 2,399-ft by 60-in. steel casing tunnel was installed behind a Herrenknecht AVN-1200 MTBM for a 36-in. PVC sanitary sewer. Subsurface conditions consist of granitic rock ranging from 25 to 38 kpsi and alluvial deposits. Construction started in November 2020 and has completed the 2,399 ft of total tunnel. The project members include Charlotte Water (Owner), STV Engineers, Inc. (Engineer) B.R.S., Inc. (General Contractor) and Bradshaw Construction performing as tunneling subcontractor.
Information: Matthew Webb – Project Manager, mwebb@bradshawcc.com.

Charlotte

Little Sugar Creek Tributary to Central Business District
Bradshaw Construction Corp.

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Bradshaw Construction Corp. has completed construction on one-pass sanitary sewer tunnels in Charlotte. The 3,587-ft by 48-in. reinforced concrete pipe tunnel will be installed behind a Herrenknecht AVN-1200 MTBM. Subsurface conditions consist of granitic rock ranging from 9 to 30 kpsi and alluvial deposits. Construction began in September 2020 and has completed the 3,587-ft of tunnel. The curved tunnels are the first planned direct jack curved sanitary sewer in North Carolina. The project members include the Charlotte Water (Owner), WSP USA (Engineer) Sanders Utility Construction Co., Inc. (General Contractor) and Bradshaw Construction performing as tunneling subcontractor.

Information: Matthew Webb – Project Manager, mwebb@bradshawcc.com.

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Charlotte

Upper Little Sugar Creek Trunk Sewer Improvements
Bradshaw Construction Corp.

Bradshaw Construction Corp. has started construction on one pass sanitary sewer tunnels in Charlotte. The 2,272-ft by 72-in. reinforced concrete pipe tunnel will be installed behind a Herrenknecht AVN-1800 MTBM along curved alignments. Subsurface conditions consist of partially weathered rock and alluvial deposits. Construction began in November 2021 and has completed 1,177 ft of the 2,272 ft for the project as of press time. The second tunnel on the project has been redesigned to incorporate a 10-ft x 10-ft horseshoe drill and blast to mitigate exposure to hard granitic rock. The project members include Charlotte Water (Owner), Kimley & Horn (Engineer) Sanders Utility Construction Co., Inc. (General Contractor) and Bradshaw Construction performing as tunneling subcontractor. Work was scheduled to be complete in November 2023.

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Information: Matthew Webb – Project Manager, mwebb@bradshawcc.com.

Raleigh

West Neuse Interceptor Improvements
Bradshaw Construction Corp.

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Bradshaw Construction Corp. has started construction on two-pass sanitary sewer tunnels in Raleigh. The 580-ft by 87.5-in. steel casing to allow for the installation of proposed 66-in. sanitary sewer will be installed behind a Herrenknecht AVN-1800 MTBM. The first 196 ft out of 580 ft has been installed. Subsurface conditions consist of granitic rock. Construction began in March 2023. The project members include Raleigh Water (Owner), Black & Veatch (Engineer) JF Wilkerson Contracting Co. Inc. (General Contractor) and Bradshaw Construction performing as tunneling subcontractor.

Information: Matthew Webb – Project Manager, mwebb@bradshawcc.com.

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OHIO

Columbus

Rickenbacker Intermodal Sanitary Sewer Extension
Turn – Key Tunneling Inc.

The Rickenbacker Intermodal Sanitary Sewer Extension (RISSE) project for the City of Columbus is a new sewer designed to replace an existing pump station and force main along the Northwestern edge of Rickenbacker International Airport. The RISSE Project will involve a total of 6,100 lf of sanitary sewer installation and 1,525 lf of trenchless crossings in five locations.

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Turn – Key Tunneling Inc. (TKT) was contracted by Kokosing Construction Company (KCC) to perform three of the five trenchless crossings for a total of 970 lf.

Crews utilized an Akkerman pilot tube/guided boring system to install the first crossing of Rickenbacker Road with a total length of 283 lf. The drive was completed successfully through various compositions of glacial till. Crews are currently threading the carrier pipe and grouting the annular space before moving onto the next tunnel – a 310-lf drive through anticipated tough geology.

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Personnel: Chris Leonard, Project Manager; Gary Ison – Superintendent; Tim Branham – Foreman.

OKLAHOMA

Edmond

Arcadia Intake
Southland Contracting / Oscar Renda Contracting JV

The Arcadia Intake for the City of Edmond is a $68 million project comprising three microtunnels launched from a single shaft. The Shaft is 54-ft ID and 80 ft deep, built with 80, 1-m diameter secant piles.

The tunnels include:

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  • Upper Intake, 150 ft long, 16 ft below lake normal pool elevation
  • Middle Intake, 250 ft long, 30 ft below lake normal pool elevation
  • Lower Intake, 450 ft long, 40 ft below lake normal pool elevation

The tunnels will include wet retrievals and will serve as intakes for the city’s new water supply system. NTP was issued in November 2022, with completion anticipated by April 2025.

The MTBM entry seals will be cast in 2 ft thick final concrete liner. Entry seals have 72-in. flanges, on which slide gates will be installed once tunneling is complete. Crews will use 60-in. Permalok jacking pipe with ¾-in. wall. Tee screens with airburst system will be installed on end of HOBAS pipe.

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Five each 150- to 300-hp vertical turbine pumps will sit on elevated slab over shaft, suction tubes (column pipes) will extend to floor of shaft with bowl assemblies 75 ft below pump room floor. The pump station will be encapsulated by precast building.

Currently, the marine subcontractor is installing screen foundations. Concrete shaft concrete lining is complete, and crews are setting up for upper intake tunnel excavation.

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The project marks the first lake tap wet retrieval in the United States using FRP Pipe. A Herrenknecht AVN1200 machine will be used including an upskin kit with a subsea recovery can and hard rock cutterhead. Excavated material will consist of sandstone, claystone and mudstone in undisturbed earth, and alluvial fill with lakebed.

Owner: City of Edmond Public Works Authority; Owners’ CM/Engineering Manager: Carollo Engineers; Engineer of Record: Schnabel Engineering; General Contractor: Oscar Renda Contracting; Tunnel Contractor: Southland Contracting, Inc.; TBM Manufacturer: Herrenknecht, Southland Contracting.

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Personnel: SCI Project Manager: Elliott Fuller; SCI Survey Manager: Fareed Imoro; SCI Field Engineer: Kash Sisk; SRJV Senior Project Engineer: Kyle Crawford; SRJV Superintendents: Homero Lugo, Shane Sorteberg.

RHODE ISLAND

Pawtucket

Phase 111 CSO Program – Design Build Pawtucket Tunnel
Super Excavators Inc.

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Super Excavators, Inc. is constructing an 8-ft diameter, 1,075 lf Adit 213 tunnel within a much larger scale project called Phase III CSO Program – Design Build Pawtucket Tunnel for the Narragansett Bay Commission. Adit 213 connects to the 30-ft diameter main tunnel and the drop shaft is approximately 120 ft below ground. The geology along the alignment consists mostly of 8,000 compressive strength rock. The Adit tunnel passes directly under the Seekonk River.

The retrieval of the Akkerman SL-100P will take place within the recently constructed Pawtucket Tunnel. A lot of coordination is taking place to minimize the disruption to the current 30 ft diameter tunnel operations.

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Work is under construction with completion expected in fall 2023. The approximate value of microtunneling is $8 million.

TEXAS

Beaumont

Colliers Ferry Pump Station
Super Excavators Inc.

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This $7.5 million project involved the construction of approximately 2,500 ft of 48-in. pipeline to convey raw water from an existing forebay to a new pump station. Trenchless construction was recommended due to alluvial soils and high groundwater conditions adjacent to the Neches River. The project included three secant pile shafts – a launch shaft, reception shaft and intermediate shaft, ranging from 18 to 44 ft in diameter and 33 to 58 ft deep. Secants were drilled using a Soilmec SR90. Drive lengths were 1,301 and 1,215 ft. Crews used an Akkerman SL60C MTBM and 48-in. Rinker RCP in 8-ft lengths.

Owner: City of Beaumont; Engineer: Freese and Nichols; Prime Contractor: Allco; Shaft and Tunneling Subcontractor: Super Excavators Inc.; Tunneling Equipment: Akkerman; Separation Equipment: Derrick.

Frankston

IPL-19 Long Tunnel Crossings
Bradshaw Construction Corp.

Bradshaw Construction Corp. is continuing work on 84-in. steel water line project in Frankston, which consists of two tunnels, spanning 1,712 lf. The tunnels are split up into a 903-lf drive, and 809-lf drive, which will both be mined utilizing 99.5-in. steel casing behind a Herreknecht AVND 1800AB MTBM. Bradshaw is currently finished mining the longer of the two tunnels, which had encountered layers of clayey Queens City sand that transitioned into sandy Queens City sand. The tunnel was mined out of a 38-ft rib and liner plate shaft with little evidence of ground water. The second of the two tunnels is 50 miles southwest of Frankston, and was launched out of a secant pile shaft. The tunnel has since mined under the Union Pacific railroad, and is currently 40 ft from complete. During the drive, the MTBM has mined mostly through the clayey Wilcox Group, but has recently transitioned to a sandy fluviatile deposit. It was anticipated that both tunnels would be completed and grouted by the end of September 2023. Project members include Tarrant Regional Water District (Owner), Brierley Associates (Engineer) and Traylor-Sundt Joint Venture (General Contractor), with Bradshaw Construction performing as the microtunneling subcontractor.

Information: Chris Flanagan – Project Manager, CFlanagan@bradshawcc.com.

Houston

Sanitary Sewer Improvements at George Bush Intercontinental Airport
Super Excavators Inc.

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This $19 million contract included 804 lf of guided boring to install 24-in. Hobas pipe and 5,616 lf of 48-in. microtunneling to install Rinker RCP. Microtunneling involved six drives with the longest being 2,180 ft. Geology was primarily hard clay. The project included 12 microtunneling shafts (five inside the airport operation area) and a GBM launch shaft and receiving shaft. Crews used Akkerman GBM and MTBM tunneling equipment.

Owner: Houston Airport System/City of Houston; Construction Manager: HAS Infrastructure; Engineer: RS&H; Contractor: Super Excavators; Tunneling Equipment: Akkerman; Separation Equipment: Derrick.

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Irving

Cottonwood & Hackberry Creek Wastewater Interceptor Improvements
Super Excavators Inc.

Super Excavators is the contractor for this $26 million project for the City of Irving involves the installation of approximately 4,900 lf of 60- and 54-in. fiber reinforced pipe from HOBAS. The primary method of pipe installation is trenchless microtunneling utilizing Akkerman SL-60 MTBM. Parts of the project are being built on a curve with a drive length of over 2,000 ft.

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Construction began in October 2022 and estimated completion is April 2024. Freese and Nichols is the engineer.

New Braunfels

SWTP Discharge Water Line
Bradshaw Construction Corp.

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Bradshaw Construction Corp. recently completed a tunnel installation on the SWTP Discharge Line Project for New Braunfels Utilities in New Braunfels. This discharge line included one microtunnel crossing with 48-in. RCP totaling 413 ft, jacked out of a 30-ft launch shaft. The crossing was constructed almost entirely on a 620-ft radius vertical curve, wherein VMT guidance technology and JackControl hydraulic joints were utilized. The crossing passed underneath the Guadalupe River, through lean clay, claystone, and clayey-gravel beneath the water table. The project members include, New Braunfels Utilities (Owner), Plummer Associates Inc. (Engineer), Pesado Construction (GC), and Bradshaw Construction Corporation working as the tunneling subcontractor.

Project Information: Jordan Bradshaw – Project Manager; Jordan.bradshaw@bradshawcc.com.

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VIRGINIA

Alexandria

RiverRenew Tunnel
Traylor-Shea

The RiverRenew Tunnel System Project includes a 2-mile-long, 12-ft-wide tunnel, shafts, and other sewer infrastructure that will help prevent about 130 million gallons of sewage from polluting the Potomac River, Hunting Creek, and Hooffs Run each year. Traylor-Shea was awarded a $454.4 million contract to complete the final design and construct the Tunnel System Project. The Traylor-Shea design-build team consists of Traylor Bros, Inc., and J.F. Shea Co., a joint venture, with support from Jacobs Engineering and Corman Kokosing Construction Co.

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The Herrenknecht tunnel boring machine (TBM) began mining on Nov. 1, 2022, and reached the first of two outfall sites in June 2023. Boring of the Waterfront Tunnel is expected to continue through December 2023. The project also includes the Hoofs Run Interceptor, that will be excavating using a Herrenknecht 76-in. MTBM. Project completion is expected by July 2025.

Designer: Jacobs Engineering; Construction Manager: Brown & Caldwell, JCK Underground, EPC; Major Subcontractors: Kokosing Industrial, Keller North America; TBM Manufacturer: Herrenknecht AG.

Front Royal

Parallel Waterline for the Route 522 North Corridor
Bradshaw Construction Corp.

Bradshaw Construction Corp. will soon begin construction for a tunnel installation on the Parallel Waterline for the Route 522 North Corridor project in Front Royal. Bradshaw will install a 552-ft, 60-in. steel casing tunnel underneath the Shenandoah River out of 55-ft deep liner plate shafts installed by the General Contractor. 18-in. DIP waterline will be installed by the General Contractor after the tunnel is completed. Ground conditions will be massive limestone up to 20 ksi with the potential for karst features. The project members included the City of Front Royal (Owner), CHA Consulting Inc. (Engineer), Snyder Environmental, Inc. (GC), and Bradshaw Construction Corporation working as the tunneling subcontractor.
Information: Jordan Bradshaw – Project Manager, Jordan.bradshaw@bradshawcc.com.

Newport News

46th Street Diversion Sewer
Bradshaw Construction Corp.

Bradshaw Construction Corp. will soon begin work on the 46th Street Diversion Sewer Rehabilitation/Replacement project in Newport News. The project includes two tunnels totaling approximately 400 ft of 43-in. steel casing. The drives will be launched out of a common liner plate launch shaft installed by the General Contractors’ subcontractor at the intersection of 33rd Street and West Avenue. Ground conditions are expected to include poorly graded sand for the drive along West Avenue and fat clay for the drive along 33rd Street. Key project members include Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) (Owner), Ramboll Americas Engineering Solutions Inc. (Engineer), Tidewater Utility Construction, Inc. (General Contractor), and Bradshaw Construction Corporation as the tunneling subcontractor.

Information: Jordan Bradshaw – Project Manager, Jordan.bradshaw@bradshawcc.com.

Newport News

Jefferson Avenue Interceptor Force Main Replacement Phase III
Bradshaw Construction Corp.

Bradshaw Construction Corp. recently completed a tunnel installation for the Jefferson Avenue Interceptor Force Main Replacement project in Newport News. The 36-in. HDPE force main will be installed by the General Contractor in the completed 60-in. steel casing tunnel, 540-ft long passing underneath of I-64 and a canal. The tunnel was launched out of and recovered into steel sheet shafts installed by the General Contractor. Ground conditions included predominantly clay with sand, beneath the water table. The project members included the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) (Owner), RK&K (Engineer), Bridgeman Civil Inc. (GC), and Bradshaw Construction Corporation working as the tunneling subcontractor.

Information: Jordan Bradshaw – Project Manager, Jordan.bradshaw@bradshawcc.com.

Richmond

Chimborazo Drop Shaft and Sanitary Sewer Replacement
Bradshaw Construction Corp.

Bradshaw Construction Corp. has completed work on a sanitary sewer replacement project in downtown Richmond, which consisted of four shafts and two tunnels. The four shafts were comprised of two 33-ft x 21-ft ellipse liner plate launch shafts and two 23-ft diameter recovery shafts, the deepest of which is 104 ft. The two tunnels span a combined distance of 594 lf, which utilized 78-in. Permalok steel casing behind a skinned-up Herrenknect AVN-1500. While excavating one of the recovery shafts, it was determined the ground conditions varied from the geotechnical report when large boulders were observed at tunnel elevation. Because of this Bradshaw opted to equip the AVN 1500 with a rock cutter head for that particular tunnel, which totaled 331 ft. The other shafts showed zero evidence of boulders, and a soft ground cutter wheel was utilized to mine clayey sand and elastic silt. Once both tunnels were completed, 60-in. DI sewer pipe was installed within the casing on stainless steel casing spacers. The project members include the City of Richmond (Owner), Greeley and Hansen (Engineer) and Southwood Building Constructors(General Contractor), with Bradshaw Construction performing as the shaft and tunneling subcontractor.

Information: Chris Flanagan – Project Manager, CFlanagan@bradshawcc.com.

WASHINGTON

Seattle

Ship Canal Water Quality project
LANE Construction/Northwest Boring (Microtunneling contractor)

The $255 million Ship Canal Water Quality Project (SCWQP) Storage Tunnel Contract for Seattle Public
Utilities (SPU) is comprised of 13,939 lf of 18-ft, 10-in. ID segmentally lined tunnel using a 21.5-ft diameter pressurized face tunnel boring machine (TBM) with tunnel depths ranging from 35 to 85 ft to top of tunnel, and a conveyance pipe casing under the Ship Canal installed via a curved microtunnel drive, 646 lf and 94-in. diameter.

There are five shaft sites: one slurry wall shaft at the West Shaft site in Ballard (tunnel launch site); three secant pile shafts at the Fremont site, Queen Anne site, and East Shaft site in Wallingford (tunnel exit shaft); and one drilled shaft using a steel casing at the East Ballard site. Anticipated ground conditions along the tunnel alignment consist of a highly variable mix of glacially over-consolidated soils.

When completed, the tunnel will capture and temporarily store more than 29 million gallons of untreated stormwater and sewage until the treatment plant is ready for it. The tunnel will improve water quality regionally by keeping more than 75 million gallons of polluted stormwater (from rain) and sewage each year from flowing into the Lake Washington Ship Canal, Salmon Bay, and Lake Union.

The project is a joint effort between two agencies: Seattle Public Utilities (Lead) and King County Wastewater Treatment Division. Both Agencies are under Consent Decree with the US EPA and DOJ, and the Washington State Department of Ecology to have the SCWQP in service by the end of 2025. The Storage Tunnel is the second of four projects in the SCWQP. There are two subsequent projects to connect the new storage facility to the local sewer systems to complete the SCWQP.

The construction project is 85 percent complete (as of the end of August 2023). Tunnel mining was completed in July. The 21.5-ft diameter TBM, (“Mudhoney”), completed 13,947 ft of the tunnel drive that began in the Ballard neighborhood and traveled eastward along the north side of the Ship Canal to the Wallingford neighborhood. The 10-ft diameter MTBM also completed its journey from Fremont southward under the Ship Canal toward the Queen Anne neighborhood in March 2023. Crews then installed conveyance pipe and below grade vaults at four sites along the tunnel route.

The Herrenknecht EPB TBM has performed well through very variable ground conditions with minimal surface settlement, including passing directly underneath the footings of the approach span to Ballard Bridge.

Lane successfully introduced the use of a pressurized launch bell into the USA and the TBM overcame two significant challenges – drilling through a very large boulder, and passing through 19 de-tensioned cable tiebacks. Production statistics include 96.5 ft in one day, 390 ft in a week and 1,291 ft in a month.
Tunnel Designer: Delve Underground (formerly McMillen Jacobs Associates); Construction Manager:

Jacobs Engineering; TBM Manufacturer: Herrenknecht. Major Subcontractors: Shaft Construction –
Malcolm Drilling Co.; Microtunneling – Northwest Boring Co. Inc..; Mechanical and Concrete Structures – Prospect Construction Inc.; Electrical – Chau Electric; Trucking – Grady Excavating Inc.; Segments: CSI.

WISCONSIN

Milwaukee

North 35th Street & West Roosevelt Drive Improvements
Super Excavators Inc.

This $19 million project for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District comprises the installation of approximately 3,160 lf of 48-in. sewer through silty clay soils and limestone. The plan is to perform the project in two drives, including one curved drive. Crews will use an Akkerman SL60 MTBM.
The engineer is KSingh. Estimated start date is November 2023.

CANADA

ALBERTA

Calgary

NW Inner City Upper Plateau
Ward and Burke

Ward and Burke was contracted to build this 3.4-m diameter tunnel spanning 2,510 lf in a single drive. It traversed 550 m (1,804 ft) in the Paskapoo Formation (combination of mudstone, siltstone, and sandstone); 80 m (262 ft) of mixed face; and 135 m (443 ft) of channel fills, all below the groundwater table. The Contract awarded to Whissell Contracting with Ward & Burke in September 2021. Ward & Burke used a skinned up Herrenknecht AVN 2500 with concrete jacking pipe. The project was completed between September and December 2022.

Edmonton, AB - Duggan Neighborhood Sewer Upgrade
Edmonton, AB – Duggan Neighborhood Sewer Upgrade

Edmonton

Duggan Neighborhood Sewer Upgrade, Design Build
Michels Canada

This project for EPCOR Drainage Department/City of Edmonton involves constructing approximately 3 km of 1,200-mm sewer with a total of 14 shafts.

Stantec is the engineer with Aldea serving as the contractor’s Engineer of Record for this design-build project.

Michels is using two Herrenknecht AVN 1200 MTBMs to complete the project, which is replacing an aging sewer that has passed the expected life cycle for this region of the city of Edmonton. The geotechnical conditions are glacial till, sandstone and mudstone. The depths of the system range between 15 to 25 m deep.

Design was completed in 2022 and Q1 2023 with mobilization and shaft construction starting in Q2 2023. Tunneling commenced in Q3 2023 and will be completed in Q3 2024.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Newtown

Newton Reservoir’s Tunnel and Water Connections
Michels Canada

This project for Metro Vancouver-GVWD involves the installation of 143 meters of 2,100-mm steel casing, which will house twin 900-mm waterline in the bottoms of two existing reservoirs. The tunnels will be built 15-m deep in glacial tills using a Herrenknecht AVN 1800 with a skin kit for the 2,100-mm casing. The project schedule revolves around reservoir use periods and outages.

MTBM work was completed in Q2 2023 with final reservoir tie in scheduled for Q4 2023. WSP was the engineer.

Thompson-Nicola

Albreda Triple Crossing – Direct Pipe Installation
Bothar

Bothar was contracted to complete this crossing as part of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project – a twinning of the existing 1,150 km pipeline between Strathcona County (near Edmonton), AB and Burnaby, BC. Pipe Specs: NPS 48 casing pipe, NPS 42 product pipe. Crossing Length: 416 m NPS 48 casing, executed in 5 pipe strings.

Jim Rush is an editorial consultant for Trenchless Technology magazine and publisher/editor of TBM: Tunnel Business Magazine.

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