Dallas City Wire

Dallas Water Utilities has begun work on the Cedar Crest Tunnel Project, which includes the installation of an 84-inch diameter water transmission pipeline under the Trinity River located between I-45 and SH-310. The contractor, Southland Contracting Inc., began construction activities in the area in February 2024 and is scheduled to complete the project in summer 2025. The Cedar Crest pipeline is an essential water transmission pipeline and component of the Dallas water system, and any interruption of service is considered critical. Construction impacts to residents, such as traffic lane closures, heavy equipment in neighborhoods or water service interruption, is expected to be minimal.  

The project includes installation of approximately 1,050 feet of 72-inch and 84-inch diameter water pipeline with a tunneled section that crosses under the Trinity River. The existing water main crossing the Trinity River will be replaced with a new steel water main through a 350-foot-long tunnel located in bed rock, approximately 35-feet below the Trinity River flow line. This depth will provide a safe and effective long-term solution for the existing pipeline that has experienced a failure in the past due to river erosion.  

The design of the new 84-inch diameter pipeline was developed to provide minimal impacts to the area by tunneling beneath the Trinity River. This approach will minimize impacts to the forested area. Despite taking environmentally conscious steps, a 50-foot-wide permanent right-of-way (ROW) will need to be cleared for future maintenance of the pipeline. The clearing will result in the displacement of approximately 1.95 acres of palustrine forested wetlands. To offset this impact, mitigation credits were purchased from an environmental bank.   

For questions regarding this project, please contact Dallas Water Utilities staff:  

Project Manager, Matthew W. Stevens, P.E. at 214-671-9852, matthew.stevens@dallas.gov   

Inspection Manager, Patrick Hall at 214-882-6060, patt.hall@dallas.gov   

Inspection Supervisor, Jose Bernal at 214-289-6841, jose.bernal2@dallas.gov   

Inspector, Javier Quintanilla at 214-397-6914, javier.quintanilla@dallas.gov

Original source can be found here.