UPCOMING PROJECTS: December 2023

CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles

Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project
Metro has a plan to make it easier to get around by creating better transit options between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside. The natural barrier created by the Santa Monica Mountains makes traveling between the Valley and the Westside challenging – and will require innovation and multiple solutions. Metro is working to evaluate alternatives for a high-quality, reliable transit service option connecting the San Fernando Valley and the Westside. The forecasted opening for service to connect the San Fernando Valley and the Westside is 2033-2035.

Metro is currently in the environmental review phase which began with scoping in late 2021/early 2022. Metro is currently advancing technical studies in support of the development of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), to evaluate project alternatives that address the transportation needs of the Sepulveda Corridor.

Most recently in January 2023, Metro held community open houses to present information regarding potential station locations and how to access the future system.

During the environmental review phase, Metro is also working with two private-sector teams, LA SkyRail Express and Sepulveda Transit Corridor Partners, under a first-of-its-kind pre-development agreement to develop a design for project alternatives.

Web: https://www.metro.net/projects/sepulvedacorridor/

Sacramento

Delta Conveyance
The Delta Conveyance Project for the Department of Water Resources (DWR) includes a tunnel through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that is designed to protect water supplies from sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion into the Delta. Additionally, the project will help to reduce the risk associated with earthquakes, improve water supply reliability, and reduce impacts on local Delta communities and fish. The project is being designed as a single-tunnel option.

The Sacramento News & Review reported in October that DWR was on track to issue a Final Environmental Impact Report in late 2023. The tunnel is estimated to be 45 miles long and 36 ft in diameter, according to the report.

Web: water.ca.gov/

San Bernardino

Ontario Airport Tunnel
The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) has partnered with Ontario International Airport (ONT) to develop transit solutions for today’s and tomorrow’s passengers while ensuring the neighboring communities experience reduced congestion throughout the region.

This project, an innovative approach of tunneling, will create a subsurface transit connection between the Cucamonga Metrolink Station and ONT terminals. The Cucamonga Station is the closest to ONT on the San Bernardino Line and has consistently represented one of the higher number of boardings in the Metrolink system. The project sets the foundation for the privately funded Brightline West electrified high-speed rail connection between Las Vegas and Cucamonga Metrolink Station, as well as the zero-emission West Valley Connector bus rapid transit service coming in 2025.

The current reference design considers a 24-ft inner diameter single bore tunnel to accommodate a single travel lane in each direction. A center dividing wall would be constructed to separate the two travel lanes. Cross passage doors would be provided in the center wall at 800-ft spacing for emergency egress, per NFPA 130.

The owner expects to execute the design-build contract in April 2024. According to the preliminary schedule, design-build construction is set to begin in 2024 with operations by 2027. In January 2021, SBCTA selected HNTB for the project and construction management services contract. HNTB will work with SBCTA to procure, select, and oversee a design, build, operate and maintain – known as DBOM – developer for the project.

Web: gosbcta.com/project/ontloop-rail-to-air-tunnel-connection

San Diego

San Vicente Energy Storage Facility
The San Vicente Energy Storage Facility is one of the most promising pumped energy storage solutions in California. The energy storage project is under consideration by a partnership of the San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego. As proposed, the project could store 4,000 Megawatt-hours per day of energy (500 Megawatts of capacity for eight hours), which is enough energy to provide approximately 135,000 homes with power.

In January 2022, the Water Authority’s Board of Directors approved entering into negotiations with BHE Kiewit, along with a $4.6 million contract with AECOM Technical Services Inc. to perform environmental work for the project. The board also approved a $1.6 million amendment to a professional services contract with Black & Veatch Corp. to support project development agreement negotiations, provide technical expertise for a California Independent System Operator interconnection application, perform preliminary design and engineering reviews, and assist with preparing a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license application.

In January 2023, contractors began performing site surveys and geotechnical studies in the hills surrounding San Vicente Reservoir to support preliminary design and feasibility studies.
The potential project would create a small upper reservoir above the San Vicente Reservoir, along with a tunnel system and an underground powerhouse to connect the two reservoirs. The powerhouse is proposed to contain four reversible pump turbines. During off-peak periods – when power is inexpensive and renewable supplies from wind and solar facilities exceed demand – turbines will pump water to the upper reservoir where it will act as a battery of stored potential energy. During high energy use, the system will discharge energy as water from the upper reservoir flows downhill through the turbines. The exchange between the two reservoirs will not consume water and is closed-loop.

The reservoir is near major electricity transmission interconnection facilities, which will allow the project to play a central role in integrating solar and wind energy from across the Southwest for use in San Diego County.

The state/federal regulatory and licensing review process is anticipated to run from 2024-2027. The preliminary schedule indicates that construction could begin by 2028.

Web: sdcwa.org/projects/san-vicente-energy

San Jose

BART Silicon Valley Extension
The $6.9 billion, 6-mile BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension includes 5 miles tunnel constructed by a single, large-bore TBM on the order of 45-ft in diameter. The extension includes four stations (three underground). The overall project is a 16-mile extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in the San Francisco Bay area. A joint venture of HNTB and WSP agreed to a four-year, $88.3 million program management contract with the owner, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). Mott MacDonald/PGH Wong was awarded a general engineering consultant contract in January 2019.
At its May 5, 2022, regular board meeting, the VTA Board of Directors voted unanimously to authorize the General Manager/CEO to execute the first in a series of construction contracts for the BART Silicon Valley Phase II (BSVII) Project. This first Contract Package for the Tunnel and Trackwork (CP2) is a Progressive Design Build Contract with Kiewit Shea Traylor (KST), a Joint Venture, in the amount of $235,000,000.

Contract Package (CP2) will be carried out in stages with Stage 1 activities including investigation of innovations, engineering and design, open book cost estimates, and the work schedule. Stage 1 activities are anticipated to occur from May 2022 through approximately December 2023, setting the stage for major construction (Stage 2) which includes boring the tunnel under downtown San Jose.

In November 2023, VTA announced the purchase of the $76 million Herrenknecht TBM that will be used to bore the tunnel. The nearly 54-ft diameter TBM will be third-largest ever built, behind Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok (Hong Kong, 57-ft, 10-in.) and and SR 99 (Seattle, 57-ft, 3-in.).

Web: vta.org/projects/bart-sv/

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington

Potomac River Tunnel Project
The Potomac River Tunnel is a component of DC Water’s long-term control plan (LTCP), also known as the DC Clean Rivers Project. The Potomac River Tunnel, 24,000 lf and 18-ft ID, will be located approximately 100 ft below ground. CSOs captured by the Potomac River Tunnel would be conveyed to the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant. On Oct. 6, DC Water announced the award of an $819 million contract to a joint venture of CBNA and Halmar selected based on its lowest price proposal and second highest technical score, therefore providing the best value. Operations are expected to begin by March 23, 2030 (Consent Decree Milestone).

Web: dcwater.com/projects/potomac-river-tunnel-project

MARYLAND

Baltimore

B&P Replacement Tunnel
The B&P Tunnel is a planned replacement of the existing B&P Tunnel, which is an integral portion of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. The new tunnel would replace the low speed, two-track brick arch tunnel, built in the 1870s with four, new single bore, high speed tunnels. The estimated construction cost is $6 billion, with a construction duration of a decade.

Amtrak is procuring CMAR contractors for Package A and Package B. Major construction is expected to begin in 2024 with tunnel boring tentatively scheduled to begin in 2026.
In September, Amtrak awarded a contract to Clark Construction/Stacy and Witbeck Joint Venture for the Southern Approach construction package.

Web: bptunnel.com/

Ellicott City

Extended North Tunnel
The Extended North Tunnel, will be about 5,000 ft long, 18 ft in diameter and run up to 100 ft underground, just north of Main Street in Ellicott City, Maryland. The tunnel will carry 26,000 gallons of stormwater per second away from streets and foundations of Ellicott City and the West End and directly into the Patapsco River. The Extended North Tunnel is one of seven flood mitigation projects in the EC Safe and Sound Plan as a result of recent catastrophic flooding in the area.

In April 2022, Howard County announced that it had reached an agreement with Kiewit-Traylor to serve as constructor manager-at-risk for the project. In May 2022, the EPA announced a $75 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the owner, Howard County, Maryland, to support the Ellicott City Safe and Sound Plan projects.

Web: ecsafeandsound.org

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston

Redundancy Tunnel Program
The Redundancy Tunnel Program for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) will allow reliability of vital drinking water system that was impacted by 2010 main break that resulted in an estimated impact of $310 million per day. The two main components are:

• Northern Tunnel – 4.5 miles long, 10-ft dia., 200-500 ft deep
• Southern Tunnel – 9.5 miles long, 10-ft dia., 200-500 ft deep

A CDM Smith-led team was awarded a $15.7 million, 3.5-year contract in September 2020 to develop and evaluate tunnel route alternatives, deliver environmental impact reports, conduct geotechnical investigation and evaluation and prepare a preliminary design report. Preliminary design is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2023. It is envisioned that final design(s) will follow soon after preliminary design with the first tunnel construction package issued in or around 2027.

On Sept. 29, 2023, the EEA issued its Certificate of the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs on the Supplemental DEIR.

Web: mwra.com/mwtp/program.html

MISSOURI

St. Louis

Project Clear Tunnels
Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) has begun an ambitious program called Project Clear, a multi-billion dollar investment addressing wastewater overflows. The system improvements include construction of nine tunnels to control sewer overflows.
Upcoming tunneling components of Project Clear include (Project, Construction Begin, Construction Cost Estimate, Tunnel Length, Tunnel Diameter):

Lower & Middle Des Peres Storage Tunnel, 2027, $640,000,000, 8.6 miles, 30 ft dia
River Des Peres Tributaries CSO Tunnel, 2028, $178,000,000, 3.1 miles, 17 ft dia
Upper River Des Peres CSO Storage Tunnel, 2032, $188,000,000, 2.6 miles, 22 ft dia

Web: msdprojectclear.org/

NEVADA

Las Vegas

Horizon Lateral
The Horizon Lateral will provide a critical second water transmission pipeline to ensure reliable service to nearly a million existing customers.

The approximately $1.6 billion project will ensure continued, reliable water service to existing customers while supporting the community’s future water needs and the regional economy. The targeted in-service date is approximately 2030.

With pipelines as large as 120 inches in diameter, the Horizon Lateral will bolster system dependability and capacity for the area, which currently relies upon a single transmission pipeline known as the South Valley Lateral (SVL). The SVL, in service since 1999, is projected to reach capacity within the next 10-15 years and currently lacks critical redundancy or back-up facilities to service the region in case of system outages or emergencies.

A Feasibility Study indicated the project could include 7 to 8 miles of TBM tunneling up to 108-in. diameter. Multiple project delivery methods will be explored, including CMAR, design-build and design-bid-build. Construction is expected to begin in 2024.

Web: snwa.com/infrastructure-improvements/horizon-lateral/index.html

NEW YORK

New York

Hudson Tunnel Project/Gateway
The Hudson Tunnel Project is a new two-track heavy rail tunnel along the Northeast Corridor from the Bergen Palisades in New Jersey to Manhattan that will directly serve Penn Station New York. It consists of three major elements: the Hudson Yards right-of-way preservation project, the Hudson Tunnel, and the rehabilitation and modernization of the existing North River tunnel.

The project is expected to commence in early 2024, ahead of the full tunnel construction. A joint venture of WSP, AECOM and STV has been awarded the design contract.

The existing North River Tunnel, opened in 1910, is owned by Amtrak. NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak operate approximately 450 trains each weekday through the tunnel that carry over 200,000 daily passenger trips. The North River Tunnel presents reliability challenges due to damage from Superstorm Sandy in 2012, as well as the overall age the tunnel and the intensity of its current use. Significant delays to a large number of trains occur when problems arise.

Web: hudsontunnelproject.com

New York

Second Avenue Subway – Phase 2
Design is underway for Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway. A joint venture of WSP and STV is working on the design for the project that extends the line northward from 96th Street to 125th Street – a total of 1.5 miles with three new stations. The alignment will use some existing tunnels originally built in the 1970s, in addition to new soft-ground TBM tunnels. The cost estimate for this phase of the project is $6 billion, with revenue service anticipated between 2027 and 2029.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced on July 5 that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is advancing Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway with the first contract solicitation for construction of the future extension. The long-awaited extension will bring transportation equity to East Harlem, one of the most transit-dependent neighborhoods in New York City. As part of this announcement, the MTA also unveiled new concept renderings of the stations proposed for the extension, giving prospective riders a first-time look at potential interior and exterior designs for the station. Preliminary renderings are subject to further design development.

The scope of work for the first contract for Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway incorporates the lessons learned from Phase 1 and will involve the relocation of critical public services, laying the foundation to advance construction of three future stations and necessary infrastructure. of the system. The contract will be solicited as an A+B Design-Bid-Build contract, which incentivizes bidders to compete on both cost and time required to complete the work.

Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) submitted to FTA, and Record of Decision on full-length Second Avenue Subway project is expected in April 2024.

Web: web.mta.info/capital/phase2_sas.html

OHIO

Akron

Northside Interceptor Tunnel
The Northside Interceptor Tunnel, will convey and store combined sewer flows from the North Hill neighborhood. The mainline tunnel inside diameter is 16.5 ft and length is 6,660 ft. An ancillary tunnel will also be constructed that will be 8 ft internal diameter for a length of 2,400 ft. The project will include major baffle drop shafts, drill drop shafts, and related structures. RFP for construction was expected in April 2023 and the City of Akron announced on July 11 that it awarded the construction contract to Granite Construction Company from among a pool of four pre-qualified teams. Granite’s bid was deemed lowest and best responsible and was $17 million under the estimated construction cost. Construction was expected to begin in the fall.

Web: akronwaterwaysrenewed.com

Cleveland

NEORSD Project Clean Lake
Project Clean Lake for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) includes several major tunnel components to store and convey combined sewer overflows. The major upcoming tunnel projects include:

• Southerly Storage Tunnel – 18,340 lf of 23-ft diameter CSO tunnel.
• Big Creek Storage Tunnel – 22,400 lf of 20-ft diameter CSO tunnel. Design is anticipated to begin in 2024.

Web: neorsd.org

PENNSYLVANIA

Pittsburgh

ALCOSAN CSO Tunnels
The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) is designing a tunnel program to control combined sewer overflows (CSOs) as part of a consent decree with EPA. The $2.8 billion system improvement program is expected to include tunnel segments to store and treat overflows. The improvements are slated to be complete by 2036. The system comprises three large tunnels, to be delivered by design-bid-build: the Ohio River Tunnel (4.9 miles), the Allegheny River Tunnel (6.2 miles) and the Monongahela River Tunnel (5.4 miles). Additionally, the program will include interceptor and consolidation sewers, dewatering pump station and treatment plant improvements. NTP for the Ohio River Tunnel is expected in January 2025.

CDM Smith is the Clean Water Program Director, Jacobs is the Tunnel Program Manager Consultant, and Mott MacDonald is the Ohio River Tunnel Final Design Consultant.

Web: alcosan.org

TEXAS

Houston

Flood Control Tunnels
The Harris County Flood Control District is entering the second phase of a study to explore the feasibility of building deep tunnels to divert storm water to prevent flooding. The district signed a $2.5 million contract with Black & Veatch to study the size and effectiveness of tunnels at various locations in the county, as well as funding sources.

According to the communityimpact.com, early estimates indicate that it would cost about $1.5 billion to build 10 miles of 40- to 50-ft tunnel. The next phase would include preliminary engineering, which would take approximately 12-18 months.

Web: hcfcd.org

WASHINGTON

Seattle

West Seattle Link Extension and Ballard Link Extension
The West Seattle and Ballard Link Extension projects will provide fast, reliable light rail connections to dense residential and job centers throughout the region. In addition, a new downtown Seattle light rail tunnel will provide capacity for the entire regional system to operate efficiently. These two separate Link extensions are part of the regional transit system expansion approved by voters in November 2016 and as of May 2023 are on two separate environmental review processes and timelines.

• West Seattle to downtown
  -Adds 4.7 miles of light rail service from downtown Seattle to West Seattle’s Alaska Junction neighborhood.
  -Includes 4 new stations between SODO and Alaska Junction.
  Design is expected to occur from 2024-27 with construction from 2027-32.
• Ballard to downtown
  -Adds 7.1 miles of light rail service from downtown Seattle to Ballard, including a new downtown Seattle rail-only tunnel.
  -Includes 9 new stations between Chinatown-International District and Market Street.
  Design is expected to occur from 2026-30 with construction from 2027-39.

Web: soundtransit.org