Project Overview

Over 400,000 residents in North Phoenix rely primarily on the Colorado River for their water. To address drought conditions and projected river shortages, the City of Phoenix is in currently building a $300 million drought pipeline that will pump Salt River and Verde River water from South to North Phoenix.

Sundt is serving as the construction manager at risk for Segment 2. This $62 million segment includes the installation of a 4-mile-long, 66-inch pipeline, running under 32^nd Street from Shea Boulevard to Bell Road. Other scopes include relocating existing utilities to accommodate for the new pipeline, six 84-inch jack-and-bores, restoration of hardscape and landscape, and slurry seal and micro/slurry seal of the alignment.

With a preconstruction phase that lasted 18 months, the pipeline’s constructability is highly technical in nature. Crews are working on an urbanized street, placing 66-inch pipe into a 11-foot-wide by 20-foot-deep trench, crossing over several existing utilities. Jack-and-bore tunneling has allowed the team to go underneath intersections rather than trenching and shutting them down, easing construction impacts on commuters and local businesses.