Halfway There

A look inside the trailing gear of Nora, the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). The railroad car in the background transports workers, equipment, and rock between the TBM and Shaft 5b.

This is the bottom of the 854 ft. deep Shaft 5B in Newburgh, NY. Workers and all the equipment and materials (including the excavated rock!) are are lowered or lifted here. The site operates 24/7, 6 days a week.

Diagram of Delaware Aqueduct Bypass Tunnel Project

Nora, our TBM for the Delaware Aqueduct Bypass Tunnel, has reached the halfway point in her 2.5 mile journey 600 feet below the Hudson River. The construction of the bypass tunnel makes part of a $1 BILLION project to repair two leaks within the Delaware Aqueduct—the longest tunnel in the world. When the bypass tunnel is finished in 2023, it will be connected to structurally sound portions of the existing Delaware Aqueduct on either side of the Hudson River. The 85-mile-long Delaware Aqueduct typically conveys about half of New York City’s drinking water each day from reservoirs in the Catskills.

Take a ride from Shaft 5B to Nora — 600 feet below the Hudson River.

Left: Nora being assembled underground in Shaft 5B; Right: TBM Nora’s namesake: Nora Stanton Blatch Deforest Barney

Nora is one of the world’s most advanced TBMs. She measures more than 470 feet long and weighs upwards of 2.7 MILLION pounds! Nora was named in honor of Nora Stanton Blatch Deforest Barney, a noted suffragist and the first woman in the United States to earn a college degree in civil engineering. Barney worked for the City as a draftsperson during the construction of Ashokan Reservoir. She was also the first female member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.