Award: Tunnel project
Value: $1 billion
Location: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Client: Allegheny County Sanitary Authority
A $1 billion tunnel — a key part of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania’s multibillion-dollar clean water plan — has a builder.
Steel City Tunnel Partners, a joint venture of Lane Construction and Brayman Construction, has won a $1 billion contract to construct the Ohio River Tunnel in the Pittsburgh region, according to a Wednesday announcement from the JV.
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Lane, which is the U.S. subsidiary of Italian contractor Webuild Group, will perform project management and major tunneling operations, the JV shared. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh-based Brayman will oversee key heavy civil and shaft construction activities.
As part of the scope of work, the construction team will create approximately 4.9 miles of deep tunnel, multiple shafts, regulator structures and associated near-surface facilities. Those facilities are designed to capture and convey wet weather combined sewer flows, which carry sanitary wastewater and stormwater in the same system, for treatment, per the contractors.
The Ohio River Tunnel is the first of three tunnel projects for the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, also known as ALCOSAN, and the final design of the main tunnel is complete, according to its website. Once it’s finished, the system will reduce combined sewer overflows into regional waterways by approximately 7 billion gallons annually and move excess wet weather flows for treatment, per the builders.
Overall, the structure is a key piece of ALCOSAN’s Clean Water Plan, which will create two additional tunnels — the Allegheny River Tunnel and the Monongahela River Tunnel — and expand its North-End plant. Overall, the plan will cost approximately $4.5 billion, according to a 2025 annual report from consulting engineer Hatch.
“At Brayman, we have studied and followed ALCOSAN’s Clean Water Plan for more than a decade, and we look forward to delivering the Ohio River Tunnel section alongside our partner, Lane,” said Stephen Muck, Brayman’s CEO, in the news release.
Indeed, water infrastructure projects have gained momentum across the country as contractors snap up competitors to gain opportunities or cash in on multimillion-dollar projects in Texas and California.
“Lane, as a partner of Steel City Tunnel Partners, is proud to be awarded this landmark project, which will play a vital role in protecting the Ohio River and strengthening the region’s wastewater infrastructure for generations to come,” said Daniele Nebbia, Lane’s chief operating officer, in the announcement.
