The crew of the MamaJo, a Tunnel Boring Machine, celebrate crossing the halfway point in the tunnel drilling. This photo was taken August 19, 2020 and provided by the City of Fort Wayne.
City of Fort Wayne Utilities news release announcing the passing of the halfway point on MamaJo’s underground journey.
MamaJo reaches the halfway point
Fort Wayne, Indiana (August 20, 2020) – MamaJo is halfway home! At 3:45 this morning (August 20, 2020) she pounded through bedrock, hitting the milestone nearly 2.5 miles between the bridge at Van Buren Street and the Norfolk Southern railroad bridge.
MamaJo’s crew places building ring #2412 in place at the halfway point of the tunnel. This photo was taken August 20, 2020, and provided by the City of Fort Wayne.
MamaJo is the deep rock tunnel boring machine that is digging the deep rock sewer tunnel, nearly 5 miles long, at a 20-foot diameter and more than 200 feet below the earth’s surface.
The name MamaJo comes from the first two letters of each of our rivers, Ma from the St. Marys, Ma from the Maumee and Jo from the St. Joseph.
When completed, the tunnel will keep a billion gallons of combined sewage from flowing into our rivers.
