TUNNELS: Devotion to St. Barbara is a tradition that dates back to the earliest days of tunneling

When tunnel workers began their Euclid Creek Tunnel shifts by brassing in—a safety practice of moving a small brass disc from one side of a signboard to another to signify they are heading underground—they passed an unassuming paragraph of text masking-taped to the corner of the painted plywood.

Oh dear St. Barbara, bring us grace and bless us with your everlasting devotion. Protect us from danger and accidental death, and protect us from the evils of this world.

Brassing in and out atop the Euclid Creek Tunnel shaft.

The text is a traditional prayer of Saint Barbara, a third-century Christian martyr who is considered the patron saint of underground workers. Devotions to St. Barbara date back to the "earliest mining traditions" which continue even today.

"December 4th is her feast day," said our Senior Construction Supervisor Ryan Sullivan who is working closely with the Dugway Storage Tunnel project. "The contractors usually find some way to mark the day."

Other traditions are more recent but just as prevalent in the tunneling community, including the practice of naming tunnel boring machines. Just as a boat is christened and named, these large drilling machines that burrow deep underground are traditionally named after a female as a sign of luck and respect.

Our Euclid Creek Tunnel was bored by the TBM named Mackenzie, the same machine that will dig the Dugway Storage Tunnel beginning next year. She is currently being rehabilitated in preparation for her three-mile-long, 24-foot-wide tunneling journey.

We had a chance yesterday to visit our old friend Mackenzie, the tunnel boring machine that dug our Euclid Creek Tunnel. She's in the process of being rehabilitated to be relaunched for a new project, the Dugway Storage Tunnel, next year.

A photo posted by NE Oh Regional Sewer District (@neorsd) on Dec 3, 2015 at 9:55am PST

Mackenzie finished the Euclid Creek Tunnel in 2013, but the tunnel was not fully complete ($3.6 million under budget) until this year.

HISTORY: Why are tunnel boring machines named, and why are they named after women?

Yesterday, our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie—who has been disassembled for more than a month but keeps right on tweeting—received a great question from a follower:

Are all tunnel boring machines named after women? Why?@MomChungtheTBM @BerthaDigsSR99 @BigAlmatheTBM @LadyBirdTBM @MackenzieTBM
— Kimble McCraw (@kimblem) December 12, 2013

With a little help and a link shared by @HMMnews, we were able to find the answer. WNYC's Derek Wang reported earlier this year, covering Seattle's TBM Bertha, that "the tradition and practice of naming tunneling machines dates back to the earliest mining traditions" including devotions to patron saints of safety of underground workers.

LOOK: Mackenzie, now in pieces, awaits a resurrection

It is finished.

Mackenzie—the 1,500-ton tunnel boring machine that once spanned more than three football fields in total length—now rests in hundreds of pieces in the cold December Bratenahl air.

Since finishing her three-mile journey digging the Euclid Creek Tunnel back in August, she has been meticulously disassembled and brought to the surface, cataloged, and placed in storage where she began her journey in 2012, at a site known as Nine Mile Creek.

AWARD: Euclid Creek Tunnel wins International Project of the Year award

We hope Mackenzie's getting her acceptance speech ready.

Our Euclid Creek Tunnel project has earned the Tunnelling Association of Canada's 2013 International Project of the Year Award, and we're honored, says Kellie Rotunno.

“We're very proud of this," said Rotunno, Sewer District Director of Engineering and Construction. "It's our first, single-pass, segmentally lined tunnel, and it is nice to have it recognized as an International success like this."

LOOK: Like some kind of futuristic dissection, photos tell the story of @MackenzieTBM's disassembly

Today we received this amazing set of images that show our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie as she continues to be disassembled 200 feet underground.

Last month, the 27-foot-tall Mackenzie finished digging the Euclid Creek Tunnel, a journey that spanned three miles under Cleveland and Lake Erie. The tunnel won't be officially complete until 2015, but Mackenzie has done her job. She's being transported back to Bratenahl in pieces where she began her dig in 2012.

These photos show Mackenzie up close as she is being disassembled piece by enormous piece.

VIDEO: Kids news program Newsdepth goes deep with Mackenzie, how sewers work

Mackenzie dug her way into hundreds of Ohio schools late last month.

After our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie finished digging the 18,000-foot-long Euclid Creek Tunnel in August, she was brought to the surface piece by piece, and a school news program featured her accomplishment in September.

The clip above is from the September 18 Ideastream program Newsdepth, a weekly news program for Ohio students in grades three through eight. Here's the complete half-hour episode.

PIC: A machine designed to dig tunnels is gonna get dirty. Here's how dirty.

When our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie finished digging the Euclid Creek Tunnel late last month, she did so on-line, ahead of schedule, and under budget.

It's likely some of the money she saved will go towards a new paint job.

EVENT: One journey ends, another begins as Mackenzie will make her way back to the surface

 

Mac's on her way back to the surface starting Monday.

More than one year ago, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s tunnel boring machine, named “Mackenzie,” began excavating the Euclid Creek Tunnel. Mackenzie has successfully mined and lined 18,000 feet of 24-foot diameter tunnel 200 feet below ground, and her work is complete ahead of schedule and under budget.

On Monday, September 9, Mackenzie’s 150-ton, 27-foot diameter cutter head will be lifted out of the exit shaft near the intersection of Nottingham Road and St. Clair Avenue. Later that day, the cutter head will return to the main construction site in Bratenahl.

UPDATE: Watch the video of Mac's cutter head returning to the surface in the clip above.

You can #TrackMac's progress Monday by following our @neorsd and @WallyWaterdrop Twitter accounts for live #TrackMac tweets from the site.

NEWS: Boring hasn't been this exciting for a long time as Mackenzie breaks through

At 1:27 a.m. Wednesday, Mackenzie saw a light she hadn't seen in more than a year.

Mackenzie, the 1,500-ton tunnel boring machine drilling the three-mile-long Euclid Creek Tunnel 200 feet under Cleveland, broke through the shale at shaft 5, marking the end of her boring—but very exciting—journey.

While the tunnel boring machine is finished, the Euclid Creek Tunnel still has much work ahead. The tunnel will not be complete until 2015 as the lining and ongoing preparation is complete. When finished, the Euclid Creek Tunnel—one of seven huge Project Clean Lake tunnels—will hold 60 million gallons of sewage and stormwater and reduce pollution entering Lake Erie.

Phew. #neorsdECT pic.twitter.com/OOMfNRFmJC
— Mackenzie (@MackenzieTBM) August 22, 2013

It's official! @MackenzieTBM has completed her 3 mile journey, 200 ft underground for @neorsd's #euclidcreektunnel pic.twitter.com/UmWtJoI1ca
— Kellie Rotunno (@KellieRotunno) August 22, 2013

Video and details will be added as they become available.

LIST: Top 5 songs for saying goodbye to a 3,000,000-pound tunnel boring machine

Have we really come to the end of the road? Boyz II Men knows how we feel.

It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

Our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie has worked her way deep into our hearts as she nears the end of her 18,000-foot road: drilling the Euclid Creek Tunnel 200 feet below Cleveland in an effort to protect our Great Lake from millions of gallons of pollution. She's leaving an amazing legacy behind her as the project nears completion.

How can you really say goodbye to that? She's not done yet, and we'll keep tweeting and updating her status in the coming weeks. But we know it's only a matter of time until the two of us part ways.

TUNNEL: Mackenzie's hitting the home stretch

A rumbling journey of more than 18,000 feet is nearing completion.

As of 9:00 this evening, the yellow box in the map above is the live location of Mackenzie, the tunnel boring machine digging our Euclid Creek Tunnel 200 feet under Cleveland. The shaft visible at the end of the blue line is where she will exit the tunnel, the corner of Nottingham and St. Clair Avenue.

Mackenzie's journey will be ending soon as she is approaching the end of her tunnel trek, a project that broke ground in 2011. The Euclid Creek Tunnel is a nearly three-mile-long 24-foot-wide sewer tunnel that will be capable of holding more than 52 million gallons of sewage and stormwater when completed.

We'll be tweeting updates and posting pics on our Facebook page as the concluding days approach.

HOLLYWOOD: Here's our pitch, 4 films, 4 genres, 1 common theme: Clean water. And us.

From superheroes to sports dramas, Hollywood has made Cleveland home this summer and we're loving it.

Sure, we offered a plant tour to Captain America and guests (the offer still stands, BTW), but it got us thinking, "Would Hollywood find our unsung work worthy of the silver screen?"

To get that conversation started, we wanted to pitch a few plot lines that were rooted in our clean-water work—but had touches of drama, or villainy, or romance that just may appeal to some key movie-going demographics.

So picture this...

INFOGRAPHIC: Wow, he must have left a Tyrannosaurus mess. #DinoDoo and @clemetzoo's Dinosaurs! exhibit

Sure, we have a Pick Up Poop! campaign for your dog, but you'd need a whooooole lot of baggies for droppings this big.

We're excited about our latest educational partnership with the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and their new Dinosaurs! exhibit that opened last week. And the graphic below is just a part of the outreach we're using to make some of the connections between these thunder lizards' business and ours.

While we love telling fun stories about wastewater treatment and the environment to educate our customers, we love connecting our work to already interesting topics even more. This exhibit is an example of that. Thanks, @clemetzoo. And here's our infographic:

PIC: Mackenzie will soon be looking up at Lake Erie

Mackenzie's knocking on Lake Erie's door.

The tunnel boring machine that is digging our Euclid Creek Tunnel project—an 18,000-foot journey 200 feet under Cleveland's east side—is named Mackenzie. And in a few short weeks, the bed of Lake Erie will be 160 feet above her head.

The photo above marks the GPS-located position of the tunnel boring machine as of Monday. Moving from west to east (or left to right in the image) at a pace of 80 feet per day, Mackenzie should begin crossing under the lake bed within the next few weeks. The total length of the Euclid Creek Tunnel that will burrow beneath Lake Erie will be about 3,000 feet.

UPDATES: Stormwater progress, Director's contract extended, Mackenzie moving forward

Three significant items were discussed at today's Board of Trustees meeting, all of which showed signs of big things to come.

Our regional stormwater management program language, known as Title V [opens PDF in a new window] was approved by Trustees with plans to implement the program beginning in 2013. This is following a 30-day public-comment period. Some of the most notable changes in our plan include increased cost-sharing for communities: 25% of all fees collected from the program will be returned to each community for local stormwater-related needs. We discussed this in recent Plain Dealer feature.

Executive Director Julius Ciaccia also had his contract extended through 2016. Trustees specifically drew attention to accomplishments such as progress in stormwater management, engineering practices improvements, and implementation of the 25-year Project Clean Lake consent decree.

Lastly, during our monthly project report, we heard that Mackenzie, our 300-foot-long tunnel boring machine will begin drilling by this time next month. Mackenzie is burrowing the 18,000-foot-long Euclid Creek Tunnel on Cleveland's east side, starting her journey in Bratenahl.

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.