SAK Completes Boring of 3,200-Ft Lemay Redundant Force Main

The St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) marked a milestone May 19, 2014, when a 150-ton tunnel boring machine (TBM) broke through the final few feet on the 11.25-ft diameter, 3,200-lf Lemay Redundant Force Main beneath the River Des Peres in south St. Louis. The tunnel will permit MSD’s Lemay Wastewater Treatment Plant to accept a higher volume of wastewater and allow MSD to inspect the original force main for the first time since its construction in the 1960s.

SAK Construction LLC (SAK), based in O’Fallon, Mo., is the contractor on the project and began boring the tunnel Feb. 28, 2014. The excavation yielded 12,000 cubic yards or 1,300 tons of bedrock and limestone. SAK had a minimum of 23 workers on site at any given time with workers operating the cuttinghead of the TBM in two shifts, totaling 16 hours a day.

“It’s always great to work with the MSD,” stated Tom Kalishman, SAK chairman and chief executive officer. “Our team has worked with the MSD for over 45 years rehabilitating pipelines and building tunnels including a tunnel just down the street from this one. Since SAK is a St. Louis company, joining the MSD on its Project Clear program means our efforts directly affect the quality of life of our own families.”

The Lemay project is one of many being undertaken by MSD as part of Project Clear, its multi-decade, multi-billion dollar initiative to improve water quality and alleviate many wastewater concerns in the St. Louis region.

Based in O’Fallon, Missouri, with regional offices in Sacramento, California, Tampa, Florida, and Baltimore, Maryland, SAK ranks among the fastest-growing pipeline rehabilitation companies in the United States.