"A crucial race against the clock to dig a tunnel under the Potomac River depends on a powerhouse player: a 15-foot-wide, 380-ton machine named “Hazel.”

This round, metal device, a custom-made tunnel boring machine that’s decorated with colorful handprints, was lowered into a 138-foot shaft weeks ago and is now preparing to dig a two-mile sewer tunnel in Alexandria.

This mission — the largest infrastructure project undertaken in this Northern Virginia community — is meant to address the city’s most glaring pollution problem: the millions of gallons of raw sewage that it puts into the Potomac every year."

Teo Armus reports for the Waahington Post September 12, 2022. [2]