January 22, 2015
The USA Vice President visits the Anacostia River Tunnel site of the joint venture led by Webuild
January 22, 2015 - The Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, recently visited the Anacostia River Tunnel construction site in Washington, DC – USA. The design-build contractor is the Salini-Impregilo / Healy / Parsons (IHP) joint venture led by Salini Impregilo, in charge of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) Project, that is part of the Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) for the District’s combined sewer system.
During the visit, the Vice President announced new steps that federal agencies are taking to leverage private-sector capital, innovation, and expertise to improve USA nation’s infrastructure, highlighting new need and opportunities, represented also by the Anacostia Project.
The visit has been posted in the official White House site, indicating that “it’s estimated that it would take $3.6 trillion to bring America’s infrastructure up to date by 2020. Across the nation, our bridges, pipelines, roads and railroads are in dire need of repair and modernization. In fact, it would cost $600 billion over 20 years to modernize our country’s entire water and sewer systems. To address these needs, we need not only an increased commitment from federal, state, and local governments, but also increased investment from the private sector.”
The Anacostia River Tunnel project involves the construction of a 3.8 km long hydraulic tunnel, mainly along the Anacostia River, a tributary of the Potomac River in Washington. The tunnel will direct wastewater and rain water separately to prevent polluting the rivers in case of flooding (combined sewer overflows or CSO) during periods of intense rain.
The tunnel will be excavated using an Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), with an excavation diameter of 7.9 m and a weight of approximately 1,250 tons. The Project also includes the construction of 6 water intake shafts, approximately 30 m deep, as well as a series of concrete structures to connect with the existing infrastructure.
The massive TBM, named “Nannie”, is now fully assembled on the surface and will be lowered into the shaft in March this year.
“We are excited for the opportunity to show the Vice President the tremendous investment being made in our infrastructure to help clean up our local waterways,” said Mr. Hawkins, DC Water Chief Executive Officer and General Manager. “This project is also an excellent example of how innovative financing can be used to fund public works projects, something we are extremely proud of because it saved our ratepayers money.”
Know more about the visit at: