The Granite-Super Joint Venture has won a $324.8 million contract from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) to construct the Big Creek Tunnel in Cleveland, Ohio.
The project is the seventh and final large-diameter storage tunnel under NEORSD’s $3 billion Project Clean Lake program, which aims to reduce combined sewer overflows and improve water quality across Northeast Ohio. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2026 and is expected to be completed in winter 2030.
22,300-foot tunnel anchors the project
The main component of the project is a 22,300-linear-foot tunnel with a diameter of 20 feet.
The contract also includes approximately 3,115 linear feet of ancillary tunnels, including adits, an overflow tunnel, a connecting tunnel and a dewatering tunnel.
Other major components include shafts, diversion structures, gate and screening structures, gate-control vaults, consolidation sewers and an overflow box culvert. The work also includes associated utilities, sitework and restoration.
The tunnel system will provide additional underground storage for combined sewer flows during wet-weather events, reducing the amount of combined sewer overflow reaching local waterways.
NEORSD estimates that the completed project will eliminate approximately 550 million gallons of combined sewer releases annually.
Final major tunnel in Project Clean Lake
The Big Creek Tunnel is the seventh and final large-diameter storage tunnel being constructed under Project Clean Lake.
NEORSD launched the 24-year program in 2011 to address combined sewer overflows and improve water quality. The program combines large underground storage tunnels with wastewater treatment improvements and green infrastructure.
The broader program represents approximately $3 billion in planned investment. NEORSD has reported that Project Clean Lake has already eliminated about 2 billion gallons of annual combined sewer overflow.
The Big Creek project will extend the program’s underground storage network into the Big Creek watershed. In addition to reducing sewer discharges, the project is expected to help reduce wet-weather flooding.
Contract follows 2026 procurement
The tunnel contract follows NEORSD’s 2026 procurement process for the project, identified as EB-2511.
The district issued its invitation for bids in April 2026. Procurement documents put the engineer’s estimate for the work at approximately $300 million.
Wade Trim designed the project.
The $324.8 million contract is about 8% above the engineer’s $300 million estimate.
Construction will begin in fall 2026 and finish in winter 2030.
The Big Creek Tunnel is part of a broader wave of major underground wastewater infrastructure projects in the U.S. The Metropolitan District (MDC) recently marked another milestone on its South Hartford Conveyance and Storage Tunnel (SHCST) Project with the ribbon cutting of the South Hartford Tunnel Pump Station.
Big Creek Tunnel Project Factsheet
- Project: Big Creek Tunnel
- Location: Cleveland, Ohio
- Owner: Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
- Contract value: $324.8 million
- Contractor: Granite-Super Joint Venture
- Joint venture partner: Super Excavators
- Designer: Wade Trim
- Main tunnel: 22,300 linear feet
- Tunnel diameter: 20 feet
- Ancillary tunnels: 3,115 linear feet
- Program: Project Clean Lake
- Program investment: Approximately $3 billion
- Program duration: 24 years
- Annual combined sewer releases targeted: Approximately 550 million gallons
- Construction start: Fall 2026
- Expected completion: Winter 2030
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