Steel City Tunnel Partners, a Lane / Brayman Construction Corporation joint venture, has won the contract to deliver the Ohio River Tunnel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The US$1bn (€860m) project includes approximately 8km of tunnels and multiple shafts. The main hydraulic tunnel – 6km long and more than 5m in diameter – will be excavated by TBM. Two 4m-diameter secondary tunnels – the 1.3km Chartiers Creek Tunnel and the 500m Saw Mill Run Tunnel – will connect to the main tunnel.
The tunnel, to be located at depths of 36-45m, will prevent direct discharges of approximately 7 billion gallons of untreated water annually into the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers. Excess flows of untreated water will be stored temporarily before being pumped to an upgraded wastewater treatment plant.
The Ohio River Tunnel will be a key element of the new Regional Tunnel System, part of Allegheny County Sanitary Authority’s (ALCOSAN) Clean Water Plan to reduce combined sewer overflows during heavy rainfall.
It is the first of three tunnels planned under the Regional Tunnel System. Along with the future Allegheny River Tunnel and Monongahela River Tunnel, it will improve Pittsburgh’s resilience to sudden rain storms and protect river ecosystems.
Under the joint venture, Lane, Webuild’s US subsidiary, will provide project management and major tunnelling operations, while Brayman, a Pittsburgh-based contractor, will oversee key heavy civil and shaft construction activities.
