A ceremonial grounding breaking was held on 20 April for the Euclid Creek Tunnel in Cleveland, Ohio, US.
A McNally-Kiewit joint venture secured a USD 198.6M contract in December 2010 to excavate the 17,750ft (5.5km) tunnel with a 24ft diameter (7m) by TBM. Tunnel depth will vary between 190 to 220ft (58-67m) through Chagrin Shale bedrock and the alignment will include a 3,000ft (914m) stretch below Lake Erie.
The project will be completed in four years’ time, and is phase one of a storage system for the Euclid Creek Area. Phase two, the estimated USD 128.4M Dugway Storage Tun¬nel, concerns another 24ft diameter tunnel, 16,000ft long (5km) and 200ft (61m) below ground. Design contracts are expected to tender in 2013, and construction contracts in 2015.
