6. Lake Mead Intake #3 Connector Tunnel
PROJECT COST: $42.3 Million
This project, near Alfred Merritt Smith Water Treatment Facility (approximately 20 miles southeast of Las Vegas) is part of the larger $709.6-million Lake Mead Intake #3 to add a new water intake at Lake Mead to protect against dropping water levels which threaten to take out intake #1. The connector tunnel will link intake #3 with the previously built intake #2. It includes a 20- by 20-ft modified horseshoe tunnel approximately 300 ft long and a 14- by 16-ft modified horseshoe tunnel approximately 2,100 ft long. It also includes a 26-ft-diameter access/surge shaft that is approximately 450 ft deep, constructed using the drill-blast method.
Location: Lake Mead, Nev.
Started: July 2009
Target Completion: July 2012
Owner: Southern Nevada Water Authority
General Contractor: Renda Pacific
Engineers: MWH; CH2M HILL
