The Southern Nevada Water Authority�s largest single contract to date just got a little pricier.
A starter tunnel for a third raw water intake at Lake Mead flooded three times in six months last year, prompting its contractor, Vegas Tunnel Constructors LLC �a joint venture of S.A. Healy Co., Lombard, Ill., and Impreglio S.p.A., Sesto San Giovanni, Italy�to drill in a drier direction. Costs for the design-build project, awarded in early 2008, have swollen to $526.6 million, up 15% from its original $447-million price tag. Who will pay for the added costs is uncertain.