Project Background and Materials

​The Duggan tunnel sanitary sewer line services neighbourhoods in south-west Edmonton, from Steinhauer up to Bonnie Doon. Construction will begin in the summer 2021. The work will be done in sections with the sequencing and timing of the work determined by the contractor. The overall project is expected to be completed by 2025.

About the Duggan Tunnel

The Duggan Tunnel sanitary sewer moves wastewater from south Edmonton to the Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant. The sewer is approximately 30 metres deep and was originally built by hand. This trunk line was built in 1975 and inspections have shown the existing trunk varies from fair to very poor condition and has been identified for replacement.

Proposed alignment

The proposed alignment of the new tunnel is from 111 Street and Saddleback Road/29A Avenue, east along 34 Avenue, north on 106 Street to the tie-in connection north of L.Y. Cairns School.

The majority of the work will be underground using a micro-tunnel boring machine (MTBM). However, there will be multiple work sites (shaft locations) along the tunnel alignment to allow for the MTBM to be lowered underground to excavate, turn corners, and be removed when tunneling is complete.

This project is broken down geographically into five zones which follow the alignment of the relocations from south to north. The work may occur in any of these geographic areas along the tunnel alignment from the start to the end of the project (2021-2025).

See project map on homepage

Odour Reduction

This project is also part of EPCOR's Corrosion and Odour Reduction Strategy (CORE) which was initiated in 2019. The strategy aims to prevent the formation of gas in the sewer system, control the release of air from the sewer system, and adapt the system using real-time monitoring technologies and improved inspection data. This will result in significantly reduced sewer odour city-wide by 2031.

With this new tunnel, the major cause of how odour is formed and how it is pushed out into the communities is expected to be notably diminished.