September 17, 2026 — Lynchburg Water Resources
Concrete lining of tunnel’s interior gets underway - 75 feet at a time
Lynchburg Water Resources has begun the next phase of the Blackwater CSO Tunnel project as contractor crews begin installing the tunnel’s permanent concrete lining. Once complete, the tunnel will safely store up to 4.7 million gallons of combined sewage and stormwater during heavy rainfall, significantly reducing overflows into Lynchburg’s local waterways.
Crews are using large steel forms to pour the concrete lining in approximately 75-foot sections between 70 and 120 feet underground. Work will progress through the tunnel from the CSO 52 site along the Point of Honor Trail toward the new pump station under construction at the bottom of 7th Street in Downtown Lynchburg, spanning 4,744 feet.
The public can track the progress of the tunnel lining through the “Tunnel Lining Tracker” on the project website at www.lyhbeyond.org/tunnel-tracker.
Construction is also continuing on key above-ground structures. At CSO 52, crews are building a diversion structure that will direct combined sewage and stormwater into the tunnel during heavy rain events. At the 7th Street site, work continues on the pump station that will move stored wastewater from the tunnel back into the City’s wastewater system for treatment once capacity is available.
The Blackwater CSO Tunnel is the largest capital improvement project in Lynchburg’s history and represents the capstone of the City’s 45-year effort to address combined sewer overflows. Through this long-term investment, Lynchburg is expected to reduce the volume of combined sewage and stormwater overflowing into local waterways by 98 percent compared with when the City’s CSO program began.
Construction of the Blackwater CSO Tunnel project is expected to be completed in summer 2027.