Euclid Creek Tunnel Project Visit

TBM’s Jim Rush, editor, and Tim Richards, regional sales representative, were given a briefing and tour of the Euclid Creek Tunnel project Feb. 24 by Doug Gabriel, construction program manager for the Northeast Ohio Sewer District. Also on hand were Bob Auber, senior construction supervisor for the district, and Tom Szaraz, McNally/Kiewit JV.

The Euclid Creek Tunnel project is the first of seven tunnels for the sewer district as part of Project Clean Lake, a 25-year program to reduce pollution to Lake Erie and its tributaries. The Euclid Creek Tunnel will be built using a Herrenknecht one-pass, hard-rock TBM excavating a 27-ft tunnel. The tunnel will be segmentally lined to an ID of 24 ft. Segments are being cast by CSI Hanson in Macedonia, Ohio. This represents the district’s first use of a hard-rock TBM with segments.

The tunnel will be driven predominantly through Chagrin shale at an approximate depth of 200 ft. A launch shaft, reception shaft and three intermediate shafts are being built as part of the contract. A portion of the alignment extends under Lake Erie.

McNally/Kiewit JV was the low bidder at $198 million and was given NTP in April 2011. To date, the JV has sunk the launch shaft to invert using steel liner plate support in overburden and rock bolts, mesh and shotcrete in rock. Crews are using an Alpine Tunnel Miner 105 to excavate a 300 ft tail tunnel and a 120 starter tunnel for the TBM, which is scheduled to arrive on site in late March. Roadheader operations were expected to be completed in early March. A conveyor system will be installed to bring spoils from the TBM, through the tunnel and up the shaft.

The four-year project is on pace to finish in April 2015. The launch shaft will be used as part of the Dugway Storage Tunnel, which is the next tunnel component of Project Clean Lake, which was the result of a consent decree.

A 160 mgd pump station, to be built under a separate concrete, will be constructed adjacent to the launch shaft to bring flows from the Euclid Creek and Dugway Storage tunnels into existing interceptors that pass through the area, carrying them to the Easterly Treatment Plant, which will be renovated as part of the consent decree. Walsh/Atkinson JV was awarded the $70 million pump station contract.

Owner: Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

Contractor: McNally/Kiewit JV

Designer: Hatch Mott MacDonald