First Street Tunnel TBM finishes bore

The alignment is 100ft underground under First Street NW in Washington, D.C. This tunnel segment will ultimately connect to the 5-mile- (8km-) long Northeast Boundary Tunnel in 2022.

From 2016 to 2022 the First Street Tunnel will store and then pump combined sewage up into the existing sewer system during and after rainstorms. The First Street Tunnel is designed to mitigate flooding from undersized sewers in the Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park neighborhoods.

DC Water selected Skanska/Jay Dee Joint Venture for the project in 2013 and the TBM launched this summer. Scott Hoffman, Skanska/Jay Dee project manager for the First Street Tunnel said the joint venture team was committed to this project and the challenge of conducting heavy civil work in a densely populated urban area. "We're proud of the end result, and the positive impact it will have on the community," Hoffman said. "It's a great accomplishment to have Lucy finish the tunneling portion of the work just in time for her to go home for the holidays."

This is the second DC Water TBM to complete a drive in 2015. In July, the TBM completed a two-year, 4.5-mile (7.2km) bore for the Blue Plains tunnel segment.