DC Water 1st Street Tunnel community update, January 2016

From: Linda Bernhardt [mailto:Linda.Bernhardt@dcwater.com] Sent: Friday, January 8, 2016 1:29 PM Cc: Thomas Lindberg <Thomas.Lindberg@dcwater.com> Subject: First Street Tunnel Community Update, January 2016

                                                              

Greetings First Street Tunnel Stakeholders,

Below are FST community updates covering the remaining month of January 2016.

First, we hope you all enjoyed the holidays and were able to visit with family and friends.  Some of us stayed in the area, while others went out of town.  We are back to work, and our construction schedule has resumed normal hours, Monday thru Friday from 7 am to 7 pm, and on Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm.

Lucy completed her task!  For those of you who were away for the holidays, we are happy to let you know that in the early evening of December 20, 2015, Lucy, our tunnel boring machine, successfully reached her final destination at First Street and Rhode Island Avenue, NW.  Lucy, like her namesake Lucy Diggs Slowe (1895–1937) showed resolve, confidence, and strength.  Please note that even though the tunnel is complete, we are still working on other parts of the project that will connect existing sewers to the new tunnel.

Below are construction activities that are occurring in January:

Construction Activities at V Street:  Concrete deliveries will continue.  Concrete trucks will be entering and leaving all three sides of the Construction Staging Area at the intersection of First and V Streets.  They will use First Street, both north and south of V Street, and they will use V Street west of First Street.  The V Street entrance/exit will also be used for soil excavation haul-out.   Reminder:  Once the contractor starts a concrete placement, it has to be continuous until completed; therefore, at times, we may have to go beyond the scheduled work hours. 

Construction Activities at Adams Street and Flagler Place:  The contractor has completed the first 80 feet of excavation and temporary support of the Adams Street adit tunnel.  They are now working to install the permanent concrete lining over this 80-foot length.  Following the completion of the concrete lining, the remaining 220 feet of adit tunnel will be constructed using a “micro” tunnel boring machine (MTBM).  The MTBM will interface with the new First Street Tunnel under the corner of First Street and Adams Street.  Around the end of January, SKJD will be bringing in support gear for the MTBM assembly, with some equipment that is approximately 16 feet tall.  Residents can expect to see, and hear, significant changes to the construction staging area until this MTBM operation is completed in late February.  In addition to ongoing adit construction, there are additional concrete placements for the diversion chamber in Flagler Place.  This will involve concrete delivery trucks and other equipment, using Flagler Place.  Some of these pours will impact parking on Flagler Place. 

Construction Activities at Thomas Street:  At the pump station, DC Water installed a 16-inch force main across First Street from Thomas Street to the alley behind the Mt. Bethel Baptist Church.  The construction is completed and two-way traffic has been restored.  Surface restorations of the street will occur at a later time, which will require modifications to the traffic patterns.  We will update you when more information is available.

Next Tunnel Forum Meeting:  The next Tunnel Forum meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 28, 2016 at 7 pm.  The meeting location will be St. George’s Episcopal Church at 160 U Street NW.  Hope to see you there!

Reminder:  You can still apply for an Alternative Parking Area tag.  Call the 24/7 Hotline at 1-844-FST-INFO (1-844-378-4636) for more information.

Please continue to check our web site for updated project information (http://dcwater.com/workzones/projects/first_street_tunnel/).  And, as always, feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions.  If you have a concern or complaint about ongoing construction, please call the 24/7 Hotline at 1-844-FST-INFO (1-844-378-4636). 

The FST Outreach Team

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/