On 30/06/2021- after 3 years - TBM MamaJo completed the 7.473,39 m (5 miles) length and 16-foot (4.88 m) diameter tunnel stretching from Glasgow Avenue to Foster Park and connecting 14 neighborhoods on both sides of the river to Foster Park. 

The tunnel, when connected by the end of 2023, will reduce the amount of combined sewer overflow going into Fort Wayne's rivers by 94 % (nearly 3.22 bn liters on average each year) protecting about 45,000 residents and 15,000 properties from basement back-ups and street flooding. Currently, when it rains, combined sewage overflows into the city rivers an average of 72 times per year.  

Most of the overflow will go to the Water Pollution Control Plant for treatment.  

The Deep Rock Tunnel is the largest construction and public investment project in the City’s history.  The USD188 million (EUR159 million) investment is designed with a life expectancy of  more than 100 years. World renowned construction contractors S.A. Healy/Lane Construction, and Salini Impregilo, partnered to construct the tunnel. 

Quick Facts 

• 7473,39 m of tunnel stretching from Glasgow Ave. to Foster Park 
• 14 million tons of material have been mined  
• When operational, the tunnel will reduce combined sewer overflows by 94% 
• Best day of tunnelling they did 35.05 m which was on the 19/01/2021 
• The tunnel is 67.06 m below the earth’s surface  
• The interior tunnel diameter is 4.88 m 
• The tunnel is made up of 4,878 rings; each is made up of six concrete segments 
• 3.22 bn liters of combined sewage can travel through the tunnel each day  
• MamaJo’s name was created with the first two letters from Fort Wayne’s three rivers: Ma from the St. Mary’s, Ma from the Maumee, and Jo from the St. Joseph  
• Projects will be completed by 2023 

Six Adits – Connections from the bottom of shaft to tunnel  are:-

• Drop Shaft (DS) #5 (Thieme Drive) under construction completion in September 2021 
• The Deep Dewatering Pump Station – Near Water Pollution Control Plant. Will lift flow from tunnel and send it to storage ponds or treatment plant. Construction begins summer of 2021.  
• Consolidation Sewers - Near-surface sewers constructed to collect sewage from several existing sewers to divert it from the rivers and convey it to the drop shaft and on to the tunnel. 
• Consolidation sewers still under construction at DS9 – Headwater Park West, DS12 – East Central Park 
• Consolidation sewers under design at DS3 - Brown Street, DS6 – Camp Allen, DS7 – Guldlin Park 
• Restoration work throughout

Click here and us/122 for the tunnelbuilder archive. For further information also visit https://www.cityoffortwayne.org/ and http://fortwaynetunnel.org/.  26/21.