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Tutor Perini subsidiary Frontier-Kemper won a $1.1 billion contract to build a water tunnel to help strengthen New York City’s supply system.
The 2-mile-long Kensico-Eastview Connecting Tunnel will connect Kensico Reservoir near White Plains, New York, with the Catskill/Delaware UV Disinfection Facility, the the largest ultraviolet treatment plant in the worldat Eastview.
The facility offers specific treatment for cryptosporidium and giardia, naturally occurring microorganisms that can be found in surface water and can cause gastrointestinal illness. The tunnel will bring water to the facility’s 56 UV units, which neutralize these insects.
According to the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, the completed tunnel will be 27 feet in diameter and extend 400 feet to 500 feet below grade, with a capacity to carry 2.6 billion gallons of water each day.
The tunnel will help meet the future needs of the city and surrounding Westchester County, and is a critical addition to the water infrastructure that serves 9.1 million people in the region. It will be the largest water supply tunnel project in Westchester County since the 1940s and will allow other components of the system to be periodically taken offline for maintenance or inspection.
“The Kensico-Eastview Connection Project is an essential investment to ensure the long-term resiliency of New York City’s water supply system,” DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala said in a statement l last year “By creating this vital link between the Kensico Reservoir and our UV treatment facilities, this new tunnel reinforces our commitment to providing consistent and reliable water delivery to New York City and its population centers growing in Westchester County.”
The tunnel must be completed before the construction of a cover over it Hillview Reservoir in Yonkersanother vital component of the system, DEP said.
Guardian Perini, based in Los Angeles, said Frontier-Kemper, which specializes in underground and heavy civil construction, including water supply and sewage transportation, will build the new deep rock tunnel. Work is expected to begin in the coming months and reach substantial completion by 2030.
Earlier this week, Guardian Perini warned investors that it would report a loss in its third-quarter earnings due to dispute charges on several projects, but that it would also post a record backlog of roughly $14 billion. The Kensico-Eastview Connection Tunnel award will be included in that total, the company said.
