Planning begins for another West Roxbury sewer project

The MWRA this week awarded a contract to an Edmonton company to figure out the best way to renovate an aging sewer main through West Roxbury, that is, a different aging sewer main than the one that forced years of traffic disruption along the VFW Parkway.

The West Roxbury Tunnel, seven feet in diameter, runs 2 1/2 miles from the VFW Parkway (near the McDonald's - and near the start of the Upper Neponset main under the VFW Parkway) under West Roxbury and Roslindale before emptying into another main at Hyde Park Avenue. The tunnel - which carries waste from as far west as Framingham - was bored through rock and is at some points 220 feet underground.

MWRA spokesperson Ria Convery says it's way too early to say if the project will involve major digging, because that will depend on how the MWRA decides to renovate the tunnel. She said the authority currently doesn't plan to begin work until 2012, leaving plenty of time for public hearings on the project, which currently has an estimated cost of $80 million.

Ever wonder what the inside of a sewer looks like? Some photos from inside the West Roxbury Tunnel.