Construction Advisory: New Irvington Tunnel Neighbors

We are preparing to bring the New Irvington Tunnel into service!
In order to do so, our crews need to fill and disinfect the tunnel and connecting pipelines in preparation for it to carry drinking water. Disinfection is a 24/7 process, and therefore, you will notice nighttime work at the Irvington Portal. Here’s more information:

Completion of Tunnel Cleaning and Installation of Dish-head
The Contractor will need to work inside the tunnel during night hours on Friday, Feb 13^th. They will also install the dish-heads starting this weekend inside the new portal structure located off Mission Blvd. in the City of Fremont.

Disinfection/ Flushing activities start week of February 16, 2015 
Beginning on Tuesday, Feb 17^th we will pump highly chlorinated water through the tunnel to disinfect it. Crews will be running pumps 24 hours a day and will be flushing the pipe for an estimated 5 to 7 days. Adjacent neighbors at Irvington Portal may hear the operations of the equipment. Passersby will notice lights and increased activity in the area. We will be installing sound blankets on the pipes to help minimize the water injection noise located near Mission Blvd entrance.

Future Work: Restoration work at Irvington Portal

After the tunnel is in service, the next step will be to construct a concrete structure around the existing tunnel portal up by the valve houses. Once the major construction work is completed, the Contractor will remove the remaining sound barrier walls. We will give the neighborhood advance notice before taking down the sound walls. Final grading, paving and installation of the wrought iron fence will be installed at the Mission Boulevard entrance by this summer.

Project Background

The New Irvington Tunnel Project is part of the $4.8 billion Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) to repair, replace, and upgrade our system’s aging pipelines, tunnels, and dams. The new 3.5 mile long tunnel will provide a seismically-designed connection between water supplies from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Alameda Watershed to our Bay Area water distribution systems.  We anticipate being completely done in fall 2015. 

Questions / Concerns?

We greatly appreciate your patience. Contact us with any questions by calling our 24 hour answer line at 866-973-1476 or emailing mle@sfwater.org