PJS Montesano JV Begins Work On $1.9B Kensico Water Tunnel

VALHALLA, NY—In late July, officials of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, local officials in Westchester and construction professionals threw the ceremonial “first dirt” to mark the start of the massive $1.9-billion new water tunnel that, when completed, will stretch two miles—from the Kensico Reservoir in Central Westchester to the Catskill Delaware Ultraviolet Disinfection Facility in Eastview.

Called the Kensico-Eastview Connector, the project will provide more operational flexibility and safeguards for maintenance and protection of the downstate region’s drinking water
supply serving the downstate population characterized as “nearly half of New York State.”

The project will be New York City’s largest water-supply tunneling effort in Westchester County since the 1940s. The first phase of construction includes site preparation at the DEP campus adjacent to Kensico Reservoir, new road alignments, electrical and DEC management security facilities.

The Kensico Campus in Valhalla, NY, will be the site of a new electrical building, major modifications and construction of connecting shafts and connecting tunnel for the drinking water from the Kensico Reservoir.

Highlights of subsequent phase contracts are vertical shafts and the tunnel itself,  that will run approximately 500 feet below the surface for two miles between Kensico Reservoir in the Town of Mount Pleasant and the Catskill-Delaware Ultraviolet Light Disinfection Facility in Eastview. The new tunnel will provide an additional conveyance between these vital components of the water supply system, giving DEP the ability to take other facilities out of service for periodic maintenance and inspection.

The first phase of the four-part construction project is expected to be completed late next year. It includes site preparation and building work at the DEP campus adjacent to the Kensico Reservoir by PJS Montesano JV, LLC. The joint venture team of Paul J. Scariano, Inc., and Montesano Brothers, Inc., JV was the lowest bidder competing for the contract which the DEP awarded for $107 million.

JV partner Paul J. Scariano said, “Ensuring a reliable supply of tap water means investing in our infrastructure.” On the day following the groundbreaking event on July 23, he observed, “Yesterday we joined guests to break ground on a $1.9-billion tunnel in Westchester that’ll provide critical redundancy to the water system that serves nearly half of NY State!”

Dominick Montesano, president of Montesano Brothers, Inc., said, “We believe that investing in clean water infrastructure is vital for the well-being and sustainability of life. It is a source of great pride for us to contribute to this vital project.”

Phase I activities include:

  • Clearing and grubbing inclusive of required tree removal for a majority of the overall KEC project;
  • Staging area preparation and installation of temporary construction trailers and construction fencing to meet town code;
  • Management of excavated material, including on-site soil placement;
  • Construction of the relocated Westlake Drive at the northern limits of the Kensico Campus;
  • Construction of a new electrical building with exterior lighting and associated parking;
  • Construction of a 30-space parking lot with lighting at the northeast corner of the intersection of the relocated Westlake Drive and Columbus Avenue;
  • Construction of a new interim DEP Bureau of Water Supply (BWS) operations entrance at Lakeview Avenue;
  • Construction of a stormwater management system (three new sediment ponds along Columbus Avenue, a new bioretention basin near the Upper Effluent Chamber and relocated Westlake Drive, vegetated swales and an underground drainage conveyance system).

Construction of KEC is projected to create hundreds of jobs for the local union Building Trades over the coming decade. Work hours will span one shift, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, although occasional work on the electrical building may extend into a second shift.

Located north of White Plains, the Kensico Reservoir is a vital component of New York City’s renowned water supply network, the Catskill-Delaware Water Supply System. The reservoir stores approximately 30 billion gallons of water at full capacity. DEP draws about 1 billion gallons of drinking water from Kensico Reservoir each day to meet the demand of more than nine million residents in the five boroughs of New York City and Westchester County whose communities are connected to the city’s system.

As it moves toward the city, drinking water that leaves Kensico Reservoir is also treated at CDUV.

Phase II, which is projected to overlap Phase I, will follow by the digging of two large shafts, 400 feet-500 feet deep, the tunneling between the two shafts, and the addition of several new facilities and upgrades at the Kensico campus. All phases of the project are expected to span a 10-year period with the new tunnel coming fully online by 2035.

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