EUCLID CREEK TUNNEL: Mackenzie prepares to make her three-mile journey

The cutterhead for Ohio’s largest tunnel boring machine, named “Mackenzie,” will begin its descent into Shaft 1 of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s Euclid Creek Tunnel on Friday, June 1. That morning, public officials and local media professionals will visit the Sewer District’s construction site in Bratenahl for an up-close and personal look at this impressive piece of machinery.

We will post photos of the equipment and crowd before Mackenzie enters the access shaft. We also will cover the event as the 300,000 pound cutter head is lifted by a crane and lowered 200 feet underground. Mackenzie will not be seen aboveground again until 2014 when nearly three miles of the Euclid Creek Tunnel is mined and she emerges near the intersection of Nottingham Road and St. Clair Avenue.

CONSTRUCTION: Trenching work to begin along Lakeshore during week of June 4

Beginning the week of June 4, Sewer District contractors will begin the latest phase of Euclid Creek Tunnel construction along Lakeshore Boulevard from East 156th Street to Sycamore Street.

The work includes open-cut construction methods in which a trench is dug along Lakeshore Boulevard, new sewer pipe is installed, the trench is filled, and the road is repaired.

To minimize traffic interruptions, this sewer work will be performed in small sections at a time, working from west to east. During each segment, the northernmost two lanes of Lakeshore will be closed to vehicular traffic. Construction is expected to last a total of three months.

The Euclid Creek Tunnel—a major component of Project Clean Lake—is a $197 million project to reduce pollution entering Lake Erie during heavy storms. 

If you have any questions about this phase of the project, leave us a comment below.

EUCLID CREEK TUNNEL: All you need to know in one easy pin

Our Euclid Creek Tunnel is one of several huge projects underway on the east side of Cleveland. This image we posted on Pinterest has the latest information and a fine overview to give you the project basics. For copies of this information as a handy information card, send us a request at community at neorsd dot org.