Chimney Hollow Reservoir construction crews hit yet another milestone this month, with excavation on the inlet/outlet tunnel getting underway on April 4. Once the reservoir is complete, this infrastructure will play the critical role of filling the reservoir and then also draining it as part of deliveries to water users. 

The initial tunneling this month took place after about five months of constructing the portal where the tunnel begins. Crews are expected to continue excavating for about 10 months on the downstream portion of the tunnel, which will run 667 feet to the center of the main dam. Crews will then head to the other side of the dam to begin working on the upstream portion of the tunnel, which will run about 1,200 to the center of the dam, where it will then align with the downstream portion to form the full inlet/outlet tunnel. 

In this 2-minute video about the tunnel, Peter Turlington with Barnard Construction explains the importance of this critical infrastructure and some of the steps it will take to build it.