On Oct. 29, Guy F. Atkinson Construction and Clark Water broke ground alongside city of Lynchburg officials on the LYHBeyond, the Blackwater CSO Tunnel project.

The new tunnel and pump station will create storage capacity and infrastructure to ensure that the James River is protected from combined storm and sewer events, marking a notable step towards Atkinson and Clark Water's shared mission to deliver complex infrastructure to protect the communities, people and ecosystems where we live.

The Blackwater CSO Tunnel will start at the CSO 52 site located along the Point of Honor Trail and will travel all the way to the bottom of Seventh Street in downtown Lynchburg, following the path of the Blackwater Creek toward the James River.

The scope of the project includes a new 4,715-ft. combined sewer overflow (CSO) tunnel with an internal diameter of 12 ft., as well as several new diversion and overflow structures to divert excess flows from the Blackwater Creek Interceptor (BWCI) and James River Interceptor (JRI) into the tunnel and pump station respectively.

The dewatering pump station is designed to streamline the tunnel and shaft draining process to approximately 24-36 hours.

To support the pump station, an electrical building also will be built to house and maintain the necessary electrical, instrumentation and control components. In addition to the new structures and their associated utility needs, on-site restoration will be implemented throughout the project.

Stantec is the project engineer, and Wiley Wilson is the project architect. Substantial completion is slated for summer 2027.

For more information about the project, visit https://www.lyhbeyond.org/

For more information about Guy F. Atkinson Construction and Clark Water, visit atkn.com and www.clarkgroup.com/companies/clark-water.