The Deep Tunnel Plan constructs a series of large tunnels underneath Chicago. The system is designed so that when the surface is flooded raw sewerage is not discharged to rivers, streets, and basements, but instead is sent to the deep tunnel and reservoirs. After the flood is over the sewerage is pumped up from the tunnels, treated in the sewerage treatment plants, and discharged. The project is one of the largest public works projects in the United States.
The Deep Tunnel "is the largest undertaking of its kind ever attempted by mankind," declared Raymond Rimkus, general superintendent of the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago, the agency that planned the project. For once, many of the superlatives were deserved.The Deep Tunnel, or the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, was the largest public works project in Chicago's history and one of the biggest in the U.S.
Phase 1 involved the creation of 109 miles of tunnels ranging from 9-33 feet in diameter up to 350 feet underground. It was adopted in 1972, commenced in 1975, and completed and operational by 2006. In Phase 2 reservoirs primarily intended for flood control remains underway with an expected completion date of 2029. Currently, up to 2.3 billion gallons of sewage can be stored and held in the tunnels themselves while awaiting processing at sewage treatment plants, which release treated water into the Calumet and Des Plaines Rivers.
Additional sewage is stored at the 3.1 billion gallon Thornton Transitional Reservoir, which will return to use as a quarry when the nearby Thornton Composite Reservoir is completed, and the 350 million gallon Gloria Alitto Majewski Reservoir near O'Hare International Airport. The 10 billion gallon McCook Reservoir is scheduled for completion in 2017 (3.5 billion gallons) and 2029 (6.5 billion gallons) and the 7.9 billion gallon Thornton Composite reservoir is scheduled to be completed in 2015. As the reservoirs are decommissioned quarries, construction has been subject to demand for the quarried gravel. Upon completion, the TARP system will have a capacity of 17.5 billion gallons of storage.
Tunnel and Reservoir Plan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_and_Reservoir_Plan
The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (abbreviated TARP and more commonly known as theDeep Tunnel Project or the Chicago Deep Tunnel) is a large civil ...Images for deep tunnel plan chicago map
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Deep Tunnel - Encyclopedia of Chicago
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Deep Tunnel System, 2003 (Map). The $4 billion Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP), better known as “The Deep ... “The Tunnel That Cleaned Up Chicago.
Big Ideas: Close Deep Tunnel | Our Town | Chicago Reader
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May 10, 2007 – The architects at Bridgeport's UrbanLab have a better plan. ... We could turn the Chicago River back around and use the Deep Tunnel for new ...
Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) - MWRDGC Portal
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METROPOLITAN WATER RECLAMATION DISTRICT OF GREATER CHICAGO. Search, Advanced search. Click to stop the animation. Lake Michigan ...
Did Chicago's Deep Tunnel help during Thursday's flood? | WGN-TV
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Apr 19, 2013Where was Chicago's Deep Tunnel in all this during Thursday's flooding? It's a question that arises ...- More videos for deep tunnel plan chicago map »
Chicago's Tunnel, Reservoir Plan - McGraw-Hill Construction ...
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Out of sight and earshot of the public, Chicago's Deep Tunnel is expanding via the project's tunnel and reservoir plan. The plan adds three reservoirs and ...
Massive Rain Fills Deep Tunnel Flood Control System « CBS Chicago
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Apr 18, 2013 – CHICAGO (CBS) — The huge amount of rain over the past 24 hours has... Deep Tunnel Filled With Storm Water; WBBM Newsradio's Craig Dellimore ... win that right under a plan approved by the Illinois House on Friday, but ...
Chicago's 'Deep Tunnel' may be in deep trouble - CSMonitor.com
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Dec 22, 1980 – Chicago. "Deep Tunnel" has come up against some big trouble. ... The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP), the formal name for "Deep Tunnel," ...
Even Deep Tunnel Couldn't Control Flooding, City Finds ... - Chicago
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Apr 19, 2013 – According to MWRD spokeswoman Allison Fore, Deep Tunnel, formally known as the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, began operation in 1985 with ...
