The Tunnel Boring Machine Mudhoney is named after the famed rock band of Seattle. It will bore the tunnel of 2.7 miles, according to Lane Construction.

The Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) “MudHoney” was lowered into the ground today in Seattle, Washington, ready to get to work on the Ship Canal Water Quality Project.

The Ship Canal Water Quality Project is a $570 million program, being performed by The Lane Construction Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of the Webuild Group. Lane has a $255 million share of the project. When completed, the tunnel will prevent, on average, up to 75 million gallons of polluted stormwater and sewage from entering the Lake Washington Ship Canal, Salmon Bay, and Lake Union each year.

Currently in dry weather conditions, all sewage flows to a local wastewater treatment plant. During wet weather conditions, polluted runoff can exceed the pipes’ capacity and send a mixture of stormwater (90%) and sewage (10%) to outfalls that flow into the nearest water body. These combined sewer overflows, or CSOs, contain contaminants that can affect public and environmental health. The new 2.7-mile, 18’10” diameter tunnel will capture and temporarily hold more than 29.6 million gallons of stormwater and sewage during heavy rains. When the storm passes, flows will be released to the treatment plant. The project is expected to be completed by 2025 and is a joint project between the City of Seattle and King County.

The Ship Canal Water Quality Project adds to Lane's portfolio of work in the western United States, where it is actively constructing a $705 million highway project (of which Lane has a 40% share of) in the City of Bellevue, Washington, and another $400 million roadwork project in San Bernardino, California. Lane also has ongoing tunnel work in Washington, D.C. and Fort Wayne, Indiana, among other complex, multi-sector projects throughout the country. 

About Lane Construction

The Lane Construction Corporation is one of America’s leading construction companies, specializing in large, complex civil infrastructure. For 130 years, it has contributed to the development of the country’s transportation systems including the Interstate Highway and a vast network of roads, bridges, airports, metros and railways. Lane specializes in mobility, tunneling, water and wastewater treatment plants to address sustainable development and climate change adaptation challenges. It is also a pioneer in project delivery methods and the use of design-build and public-private partnerships. Lane projects include the C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir in Florida, an Everglades restoration effort; I-10 Corridor Express Lanes in California; the LYNX Blue Line Extension in North Carolina; the Anacostia River Tunnel in Washington, D.C.; the I-395 Express Lanes Extension in Virginia; and the Unionport Bridge Replacement in Bronx, New York. Based in Cheshire, Connecticut, it is wholly owned by Webuild, a global infrastructure group. For more information, visit http://www.laneconstruct.com. For more details about the parent company, visit webuildgroup.com.

About Webuild Group

Webuild, the new group born in 2020 from Salini Impregilo, is a leading global player in the construction of large, complex projects for sustainable mobility, clean hydro energy, clean water, green buildings, supporting clients in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). The Group is the expression of 115 years of engineering experience applied in 50 countries on five continents with 70,000 direct and indirect employees from more than 100 nationalities. Recognised for five years by Engineering News-Record (ENR) as the world leader in water infrastructure (such as dams, hydraulic tunnels, water and wastewater management, and water treatment and desalination plants), it ranks since 2018 among the top 10 in the environment sector and it is also leader in sustainable mobility (especially metro and rail lines, in addition to roads and bridges). A signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, the Group’s expertise is displayed in projects such as the M4 metro line in Milan, Grand Paris Express, Cityringen in Copenhagen, Sydney Metro Northwest, Red Line North Underground in Doha, Line 3 of the Riyadh Metro and the high-speed railways in Italy. Other projects include the new Genoa Bridge and the Gerald Desmond replacement bridge in Long Beach, California, the expansion of the Panama Canal, the Snowy 2.0 hydroelectric power station in Australia, the Rogun hydroelectric dam in Tajikistan, the Anacostia River and Northeast Boundary tunnels in Washington, D.C. and the Al Bayt 2022 World Cup stadium in Qatar. In 2020, the Group’s total order backlog reached €41.7 billion, with 89% of the backlog of construction orders involving projects that support the SDGs set by the United Nations. Webuild, subject to direction and coordination by Salini Costruttori SpA, is headquartered in Italy and is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange