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Suburban Underground Vadders
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New Austin Tunnel
You know, sometimes it pays to go back through your old emails and clear out the crap. Sometimes you come across something useful that you forgot about. Several months ago Mox sent me a short email with a link to an article about a large drainage tunnel being built under Interstate 35.
I had thought at the time that it hadn’t been built yet and also there was not enough information to find out where exactly the outfall was. After taking another look and doing some fresh research I was able to find it.
After seeing the information I found I immediately went looking for it. There is still construction going on around here but it is for the new bridge to widen the highway. The tunnel, however, had been completed for almost 2 years. They are still working on several filtration systems to keep sludge from the highway from contaminating the creek.
Ah, the outfall. The plants in this area are about shoulder high and the ground is very swamp-like in some areas. I didn’t have my rubber boots on so I only ventured a little way in.
Once inside I got a feel for how large this monster is. The article says that it is 12 feet wide but I’m pretty sure it is a bit more.
Far down the tunnel you can see where it turns from the square pipe to an RCP (Round Concrete Pipe). The ground was several inches thick with sludge in places but most of it was gravel or bare concrete partially covered in a few inches of water. I was excited so I started calling people. I got a hold of Mox and he was down there in a few minutes ready to check the place out after a quick trip to Wal-Mart to get rubber boots.
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