The North Interceptor Sewer Improvement Project completely replaced and realigned the sewer interceptor underneath Broadway, Colden Street, and other streets in the city’s east end to increase its wastewater capacity.
Mayor Torrance Harvey celebrated its completion along a newly repaved stretch of Broadway overlooking the Hudson River.
“They said we couldn’t do it! Let’s give it up Newburgh!” Harvey declared.
It also needed to be done. The north interceptor deals with sewage from a large portion of the city, and officials had to scramble to address a feared leak in 2017. The project is also part of a 15-year long-term control plan that Newburgh agreed to in 2016 with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to increase its wastewater capacity and improve water quality in the Hudson River.
Like other communities across New York, Newburgh uses a combined sewer system that deals with both sewage and stormwater. During heavy rain, that system risks overflowing a combination of stormwater and sewage into the Hudson and Quassaic Creek before it can get to a treatment plant.
Madeline Feaster, with the environmental organization Riverkeeper, says combined sewer overflows are one of the biggest issues for the Hudson today.
“We’re seeing communities invest in reducing combined sewer overflows, which is awesome — that’s happening from the Capital District all the way to New York City," says Feaster. "And we need to keep improvements like this coming, especially as climate extremes are continuing to impact our infrastructure and our water quality.”
City Engineer Jason Morris says Newburgh's north interceptor, and other control plan projects, will reduce its overflows to the Hudson River by roughly 56 million gallons a year.
Completing the north interceptor meant installing roughly 8,700 feet of new sewer pipes, relocating other water mains and gas lines, and repaving multiple roads and sidewalks. Morris says more than 2,000 feet of pipe was built via a trenchless construction method called micro tunneling, in which a boring machine drills through bedrock and lays pipe at the same time.
“I also want to congratulate and thank all the construction who made this project a tremendous success. You are the true heroes of this project," says Morris. "You have transformed the east end of the city and set the stage for a renaissance in Newburgh.”
Construction started in April 2022 and took not much longer than the two years officials initially projected. Morris says more than $30 million of the project was covered by state and federal grants, including $3.5 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $3 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. He says the remainder was financed by interest-free loans from the state Environmental Facilities Corporation.
Mayor Harvey hopes the project will lay the groundwork for more economic development in Newburgh. The Democrat says the city wants to redevelop “the hillside” overlooking the Hudson in the city’s east end.
“I am confident that this will inspire future initiatives and prioritize the sustainability and resilience that this city has been longing for for decades," says Harvey.
The state DEC projected in 2022 that most of Newburgh’s long-term control plan would be implemented by 2026. The city says it has several other infrastructure projects in progress, including sewer separations on North Street and North Water Street, and the South Interceptor Sewer Replacement Project.
