The New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection selected Frontier-Kemper Constructors for a $1.1-billion contract for its Kensico-Eastview Connection Tunnel Project, the contractor’s parent company, Tutor Perini Corp., announced Oct. 23.

The plan calls for construction of a 2-mile-long, 27-ft-dia concrete-lined deep rock tunnel between 400 ft and 500 ft underground to convey drinking water from the Kensico Reservoir to the Catskill/Delaware Ultraviolet Light Disinfection Facility in Mount Pleasant, N.Y. The tunnel is planned for a capacity to carry 2.6 billion gallons of water per day.

DEP officials said in environmental review documents that they expect the contractor will excavate a shaft at each end of the tunnel, and use a tunnel boring machine starting at the disinfection facility and moving northeast toward the reservoir. 

The 30.6-billion-gallon Kensico Reservoir was created in 1915 by damming the Bronx River, though most of its water comes from west of the Hudson River via a pair of aqueducts. DEP draws about 1 billion gallons of drinking water from the reservoir daily.

The work is needed to increase the flexibility and redundancy of New York City's water system, according to DEP. The agency is also required to undertake the project as part of the terms of a 2019 consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“This project will help us fulfill our commitment to providing consistent and reliable delivery of the highest-quality water to New York City and the growing population centers in Westchester County,” DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala said in a statement when site preparation work began earlier this year.

Procurement records show Schiavone Construction Co. LLC and Skanska USA Civil Northeast Inc. also submitted proposals for the contract. 

Frontier-Kemper declined to comment on the project beyond the announcement of its contract award and DEP did not respond to inquiries.

The scope of the $1.9-billion project, which is being contracted in phases, also includes other improvements at the sites at either end of the tunnel. DEP previously awarded a $107.7-million contract to New Rochelle, N.Y.-based PJS Montesano JV LLC for site preparation work, records show. The contractor is a joint venture of Paul J. Scariano Inc. and Montesano Brothers Inc.

Substantial completion on Frontier-Kemper’s work is scheduled for 2030, according to the contractor, and DEP anticipates the tunnel coming fully online by 2035.

Credits: ENR New York