The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has reached another milestone in its $1 billion project to repair the longest tunnel in the world.
DEP officials say the final segment of steel lining was lowered into the 2.5 mile Delaware Aqueduct Bypass Tunnel, down an access shaft in the Town of Newburgh Wednesday afternoon. It was the last of 230 steel liners. Each steel segment is 16 feet in diameter, 40 feet long and weighs 106,000 pounds. The installation of steel liners is a few months ahead of schedule, and part of an effort to repair two leaks in the 85-mile long Delaware Aqueduct, which typically conveys about half of New York City’s drinking water each day from reservoirs in the Catskills. The repair is the largest in the history of the New York City water supply system. The project is expected to be completed 2023.
