The City of Newburgh Tuesday announced the successful completion of the first of three underground tunnels planned for the City’s $32 million North Interceptor Sewer Improvement Project. This phase of the project is being completed by a specially designed tunnel boring machine (TBM) capable of “microtunneling” – an innovative, remote-operated trenchless construction method that allows for simultaneous excavation and pipe laying with minimal disruption to residents. Over a period of 35 days, the TBM broke through 487 feet of solid rock, traveling a path along Colden Street, between First Street and Second Street to complete the first tunnel.

This first section of new sewer tunnel was created by launching the TBM from inside a 50 foot deep shaft excavated at the intersection of First Street and Colden Street, and boring the new tunnel in a northerly direction to a receiving shaft excavated at the intersection of Second Street and Colden Street. The TBM was then extracted from the Second Street shaft and commenced boring the next section of tunnel along Colden Street between Broadway and First Street on March 30.

“The $32 million North Interceptor Sewer Improvement Project is part of $100 million in infrastructure projects underway throughout the City of Newburgh that will continue to revitalize our local economy,” said City Manager Todd Venning in a prepared statement. “We are grateful for the continued commitment of Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Congressmember Pat Ryan to the future of Newburgh and the Hudson Valley.”

The North Interceptor Sewer Improvement Project is the largest and most significant infrastructure project to take place in the City in decades. The $32 million project commenced construction in April 2022 and will be completed in the Spring of 2024. At completion, the project will have installed 8,700 linear feet of new, larger-gravity sanitary sewer piping to make upgrades to the City’s combined sewer infrastructure that are crucial to protecting the water quality of the Hudson River.