DC Water First Street Tunnel Community Update, March 29, 2016 -- Abigail challenges

From: Linda Bernhardt [mailto:Linda.Bernhardt@dcwater.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2016 3:33 PM
To: Thomas Lindberg <Thomas.Lindberg@dcwater.com>
Subject: First Street Tunnel Community Update, March 29, 2016

Greetings First Street Tunnel Stakeholders,

Update on Abigail, micro-tunnel boring machine (MTBM) that is currently mining the Adams Street adit tunnel 

Abigail, the MTBM, has encountered challenging ground conditions under Adams Street, causing SKJD to work, at times, in an emergency mode.  SKJD has notified the permitting authorities as required, and has received permission to proceed with occasional off-hours work to complete critical tasks for safety reasons.  The pipe-jacking operation launch through frozen ground is now complete; this effort proved to be more difficult than expected.  In addition, work crews have encountered high groundwater pressure, requiring some adjustment to the equipment.  Mining is scheduled to resume on Thursday, March 31, 2016.  Changing soil conditions, including moving through sections of clay, require that ground conditions be stabilized as they are encountered.

Please be assured that the public and adjacent buildings are not at risk.

As we move forward, it is important to note that SKJD may need to perform additional nighttime work to complete this task.

We will send out another notice when this work is complete.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call the 24/7 Hotline at 1-844-FST-INFO (1-844-378-4636).  Please continue to check our web site for updated project information (http://dcwater.com/workzones/projects/first_street_tunnel/).

Tom Lindberg, DCCR First Street Tunnel - Public Outreach | DC Clean Rivers Project
DC Water | 5000 Overlook Avenue, SW | Washington, DC 20032 | t (202) 787-4738 
f (202) 787-4478 | Email: thomas.lindberg@dcwater.com
FST web page: http://dcwater.com/workzones/projects/first_street_tunnel/