TUNNELS: Devotion to St. Barbara is a tradition that dates back to the earliest days of tunneling

• Posted by Jared Shepherd
• 4430 Views
• December 4th, 2015
• in Miscellaneous
• No Comments

When tunnel workers began their Euclid Creek Tunnel shifts by brassing in—a safety practice of moving a small brass disc from one side of a signboard to another to signify they are heading underground—they passed an unassuming paragraph of text masking-taped to the corner of the painted plywood. Oh...

Read More

HISTORY: Why are tunnel boring machines named, and why are they named after women?

• Posted by Jared Shepherd
• 5197 Views
• December 13th, 2013
• in Miscellaneous
• No Comments

Yesterday, our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie—who has been disassembled for more than a month but keeps right on tweeting—received a great question from a follower: Are all tunnel boring machines named after women? Why?@MomChungtheTBM @BerthaDigsSR99 @BigAlmatheTBM @LadyBirdTBM @MackenzieTBM — Kimble McCraw (@kimblem) December 12, 2013 With a little help...

Read More

LOOK: Mackenzie, now in pieces, awaits a resurrection

• Posted by Jared Shepherd
• 3909 Views
• December 2nd, 2013
• in Miscellaneous
• No Comments

It is finished. Mackenzie—the 1,500-ton tunnel boring machine that once spanned more than three football fields in total length—now rests in hundreds of pieces in the cold December Bratenahl air. Since finishing her three-mile journey digging the Euclid Creek Tunnel back in August, she has been meticulously disassembled and...

Read More

AWARD: Euclid Creek Tunnel wins International Project of the Year award

• Posted by Jared Shepherd
• 4481 Views
• November 21st, 2013
• in Miscellaneous
• No Comments

We hope Mackenzie‘s getting her acceptance speech ready. Our Euclid Creek Tunnel project has earned the Tunnelling Association of Canada‘s 2013 International Project of the Year Award, and we’re honored, says Kellie Rotunno. “We’re very proud of this,” said Rotunno, Sewer District Director of Engineering and Construction. “It’s our...

Read More

LOOK: Like some kind of futuristic dissection, photos tell the story of @MackenzieTBM’s disassembly

• Posted by Jared Shepherd
• 3767 Views
• October 18th, 2013
• in Miscellaneous
• No Comments

Today we received this amazing set of images that show our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie as she continues to be disassembled 200 feet underground. Last month, the 27-foot-tall Mackenzie finished digging the Euclid Creek Tunnel, a journey that spanned three miles under Cleveland and Lake Erie. The tunnel won’t...

Read More

VIDEO: Kids news program Newsdepth goes deep with Mackenzie, how sewers work

• Posted by Jared Shepherd
• 3703 Views
• October 10th, 2013
• in Miscellaneous
• No Comments

Mackenzie dug her way into hundreds of Ohio schools late last month. After our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie finished digging the 18,000-foot-long Euclid Creek Tunnel in August, she was brought to the surface piece by piece, and a school news program featured her accomplishment in September. The clip above...

Read More

PIC: A machine designed to dig tunnels is gonna get dirty. Here’s how dirty.

• Posted by Jared Shepherd
• 3710 Views
• September 20th, 2013
• in Miscellaneous
• No Comments

When our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie finished digging the Euclid Creek Tunnel late last month, she did so on-line, ahead of schedule, and under budget. It’s likely some of the money she saved will go towards a new paint job. Digging through three miles of shale 200 feet under...

Read More

EVENT: One journey ends, another begins as Mackenzie will make her way back to the surface

• Posted by Jared Shepherd
• 4071 Views
• September 6th, 2013
• in Miscellaneous
• No Comments

  Mac’s on her way back to the surface starting Monday. More than one year ago, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s tunnel boring machine, named “Mackenzie,” began excavating the Euclid Creek Tunnel. Mackenzie has successfully mined and lined 18,000 feet of 24-foot diameter tunnel 200 feet below ground,...

Read More

NEWS: Boring hasn’t been this exciting for a long time as Mackenzie breaks through

• Posted by Jared Shepherd
• 4119 Views
• August 22nd, 2013
• in Miscellaneous
• One Comment

At 1:27 a.m. Wednesday, Mackenzie saw a light she hadn’t seen in more than a year. Mackenzie, the 1,500-ton tunnel boring machine drilling the three-mile-long Euclid Creek Tunnel 200 feet under Cleveland, broke through the shale at shaft 5, marking the end of her boring—but very exciting—journey. While the...

Read More

LIST: Top 5 songs for saying goodbye to a 3,000,000-pound tunnel boring machine

• Posted by Jared Shepherd
• 3950 Views
• August 12th, 2013
• in Miscellaneous
• No Comments

Have we really come to the end of the road? Boyz II Men knows how we feel. It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday. Our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie has worked her way deep into our hearts as she nears the end of her 18,000-foot road: drilling the...

Read More