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Deep
Tunnel, a system of tunnels
up to
340
feet
deep thatwill
intercept storm water over flow and channel
it
to multi-billion gallon storage reseivoirs underground. After storms subside the
reservoirs and
tunnels can be
pumped
dry and the water cleaned
and
discharged
into the lake.
In Chicago, there is a law
that
does not
allow pollution in
Lake
Michigan. The only way you could accomplish
this
is to
build
a second river system,
and that
is what
Deep
Tunnel is all about.
One
of
the biggest challenges of tunneling in the city
was
how to progress without blasting.
Authorities
wanted
to
reduce
disruptions to residents but also specified a
need
for tunnels
with
an
unprecedented
35-foot
diameter. Because tunnels
of the
size had
never
been bored before
mining experts
were
consulted
to
reconfigure
existing tunnel
boring
machines
(TBM)
and
thus eliminating the
need
for a lot of
blasting
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Twenty-four hours a day
the
miners
of Laborer’s
Local 2
worked
behind
these
enormous TBM’s.
The laborers of the
Deep
Tunnel established world
records
for the
mining
industry. Consistently, averaging over
One Thousand feet
per
week
became conunonpiace. Overall, mining
records
established for
the
32’4”
TBM
included a
single
shift
of
96’,
daily
footage of
242’,
weekly
1,063’ for a
single
month.
Intricate systems of drop shafts
connect
from
the Deep Tunnels
to the
surface.
Huge chambers at the bottom of
each
shaft direct the
over flow of sewer water and storm water to the
main tunnel.
The
painstaking task
of
drilling
and blasting these shafts and
chambers has been
the
mainstay
of employment for
many
at
Local 2.
Keep
up the
fine
work. As always, work safe.
Rich
Kuczkowsld
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In the picture below are Local 2 laborers on the job for Kenny Kiewit Shea Join Venture. From left to right: Juvencio Briceno, Willie Ivory,
John
Smith and Mike Johnson.
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