The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) has awarded a $1 billion contract to Steel City Tunnel Partners to construct the Ohio River Tunnel in Pennsylvania. The project forms a major part of ALCOSAN’s Clean Water Plan, a long-term program aimed at reducing sewer overflows and improving regional water quality.
Steel City Tunnel Partners is a joint venture between Lane Construction and Brayman Construction. The project scope includes approximately 4.9 miles of deep tunnel, multiple shafts, regulator structures, and associated surface facilities. The system will capture and convey wet-weather combined sewer flows for treatment instead of discharging them into local waterways.
Construction is expected to begin later this year. Lane Construction will lead project management and tunneling operations, while Brayman Construction will oversee shaft construction and heavy civil work. The Ohio River Tunnel is the first of three major tunnels planned under ALCOSAN’s Regional Tunnel System.
Once complete, the tunnel will reduce combined sewer overflows into regional waterways by approximately 7 billion gallons annually. The project will also transport excess wet-weather flows to treatment facilities, helping ALCOSAN meet long-term environmental compliance requirements. The broader Clean Water Plan includes the future Allegheny River Tunnel, Monongahela River Tunnel, and expansion of the authority’s wastewater treatment plant.