Johnson County Wastewater is scheduled to begin construction on a 9,800 foot long tunnel running underground, beneath Holliday Drive, Wilder Road, Mill Creek and I-435. Johnson County commissioners approved a $32 million contract for the project on Thursday, July 14, and JCW selected S.J. Louis Construction to execute the project.

The tunnel, which will have a 96-inch diameter, will allow treated water from the Mill Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant on Wilder Road to naturally flow into the Kansas River. The project is a sustainable solution and will save the city an estimated $200,000 per year.

“What the tunnel does do is reduce our carbon footprint and operating costs since we will not need electricity to pump the effluent as we do now,” John O’Neil, general manager for Johnson County Wastewater, said in a press release.

Currently, treated water is emptied into the river through a pumping station, but in the case of heavy rains, the pumping station is at risk of overflowing with untreated water and contaminating the Kansas River or Mill Creek. After the completion of the tunnel, the pumping station will be closed. The tunnel’s completion is scheduled to be completed in late 2013.