DigIndy Project Gains Traction

The tunneling equipment is 18 feet in diameter.

Citizens Energy Group’s DigIndy Tunnel System project reached another milestone last week, announcing the mining completion of the Lower Pogues Run and White River Tunnels. Mining for the project, which aims to prevent 99 percent of sewer overflows into area waterways, is now complete on four of six tunnels and 17 of 28 miles.

The first 10 miles of the DigIndy Tunnel System entered into operation at the end of 2017, and made significant progress on the project continued last year. 

Citizen says work to prepare the two new segments to capture raw sewage is ongoing, and the tunnels are on schedule to be online by 2021.

Next, Citizens’ tunnel boring machine will mine the 3.4-mile Fall Creek Tunnel. Following that portion, mining will begin on the tunnel system’s final segment, the 7.6-mile Pleasant Run Tunnel.

“Citizens Energy Group has reached an exciting milestone, having mined more than half of the DigIndy Tunnel System upon the culmination of mining the Lower Pogues Run and White River Tunnels,” said Citizens President & Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Harrison, in a news release. “As DigIndy moves forward, we continue to use our tunnel boring machine in a way that results in project cost and production time savings, along with increased storage capacity for the system.”

The full 28-mile DigIndy Tunnel System is slated to be complete in 2025.