Brokk Tunnels Through Cleveland

In 2010, McNally-Kiewit began construction in Cleveland, OH, on a project that will aid significantly in the efforts to improve water quality in Lake Erie and Euclid Creek. Known as the Euclid Creek Storage Tunnel Project, the contract will extend over four years at a cost of nearly 200 million dollars. Recently, McNally-Kiewit purchased a Brokk 160 to help with some particularly challenging aspects of the job.

The project involves reducing the number of combined sewer overflows to Euclid Creek and Lake Erie by re-routing the overflow systems into the new water storage tunnel. Once complete, this underground tunnel system will act as a series of holding tanks for the water plant – ensuring that no untreated water is dumped into Lake Erie. Excess water will be held in the tanks whenever the plant is backed up. Once the plant is up to speed again, the water will be taken from the tanks and cleaned before being released back into Lake Erie.

While the concept of having a holding tank was relatively simple, construction of the tunnel has been a bit more intricate. Eighteen connector shafts will act as access points for water to run into the tank below. A central shaft will also need to be constructed to connect the water tank to the treatment facility. Each shaft being dug ranges from 18 to 50 feet – which makes for a tight work environment.

“We try to keep our excavations small due to cost considerations, which means there isn’t much room for a standard mini-excavator,” William McFadden, McNally-Kiewit shaft superintendent said. “Ten of the shafts also had existing sewers passing through them, which limited the space even more. For example, one excavation is 25 feet by 16 feet with a 48 inch sewer passing through it.”

Facing these challenges, McNally-Kiewit decided to turn to Brokk for assistance. Brokk worked with McNally-Kiewit to analyze the company’s needs and equip them with the ideal unit – a Brokk 160.

In order to prevent customers from the frustrating process of trial and error experimentation with the equipment, Brokk places a heavy emphasis on training and includes training as part of the equipment purchase. Proper training also maximizes productivity and enhances operator safety. August Scalici, Brokk applications specialist and main point of contact for McNally-Kiewit began the training in a classroom, where he showed the team the ins and outs of the Brokk. Scalici also covered the machine’s capabilities, how to run it, how to service it and how to maintain it. He capped off the training with instruction on how to correctly utilize the Brokk on the job at hand.

“The Brokk 160 was the best product for this project because it fits perfectly in the confined area,” Scalici said. “It does the work of a powerful, aggressive machine, as well as being able to do the more fine, detailed work. This, in turn, helps increase job productivity.”

The Brokk 160 digs the shafts, and the excess dirt and clay is removed with a crane and a two-cubic yard bucket. While operators fill the bucket and use the crane to lift the bucket out of the shaft, the Brokk 160 continues to dig – allowing operators to continue shaft excavating without interruption. Utilizing the Brokk 160 has not only increased efficiency for McNally-Kiewit, it has also ensured operator safety and tunnel precision.

“The Brokk has really been an efficient piece of equipment,” Williams said. “In addition to the confined spaces, fumes have also been an issue in the construction process of the tunnels. The Brokk allows us to dig these tunnels easily without ever having to put an operator in danger. Plus, the Brokk has been strong enough to excavate even the hard clay that we’ve been encountering without any problems.”

Construction of the Euclid Creek Storage Tunnel continues to move forward smoothly and efficiently due to the dynamic duo of the McNalley-Kiewit team and the Brokk 160.