By ashleykaren
The City of Newburgh revealed the first of three underground tunnels have been finished as part of the North Interceptor Sewer Improvement Project.
This phase of the project is being achieved by a specially designed TBM capable of “microtunneling” – an innovative, remote-operated trenchless building method that enables simultaneous boring and pipe laying with minimal disruption to residents.
The tunnel boring machine excavated 487 feet of solid rock for 35 days, travelling along Colden Street, between First Street and Second Street, to finish the first tunnel. The project is estimated to cost $32 million in total.
This first section of the new sewer tunnel was created by launching the TBM from inside a 50-foot-deep shaft bored at the First Street and Colden Street intersection. The TBM excavated the new tunnel in a northerly direction to a receiving shaft bored at the Second Street and Colden Street intersection. Then, the TBM was pulled from the Second Street shaft and started digging the next section of the tunnel along Colden Street between Broadway and First Street.
The $32 million North Interceptor Sewer Improvement Project is the greatest infrastructure project to take place in the city in decades. Its construction began in April 2022 and is expected to be ready by the spring of 2024.
Once completed, the project must have installed 8,700 linear feet of new, larger-gravity sanitary sewer piping to make advancements to the City’s combined sewer infrastructure that are vital to protect the water quality of the Hudson River.
Newburgh City Manager, Todd Venning, noted that the sewer project is part of $100 million being pumped into renovations throughout the City of Newburgh. He hopes it will revive the local economy.
