Fort Wayne Sewage Tunnel Reaches Halfway Point

(photo courtesy of the city of Fort Wayne)

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Fort Wayne’s deep rock tunnel boring machine is halfway to completing its goal. The city says the machine, known as “MamaJo,” is digging a nearly five mile-long deep rock sewer tunnel more than 200 feet below the surface.

Fort Wayne City Utilities says the machine hit the milestone nearly 2.5 miles between the bridge at Van Buren Street and the Norfolk Southern railroad bridge.

The name MamaJo comes from the first two letters of each of Fort Wayne’s rivers: Ma from the St. Marys, Ma from the Maumee, and Jo from the St. Joseph.

When completed, the city says the 20-foot diameter tunnel will keep a billion gallons of combined sewage from flowing into the rivers.