A joint venture headed up by Italian construction firm Salini Impregilo has been awarded a US$188 million tunnelling contract in the US state of Indiana.

The firm will partner on the job with SA Healy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lane Construction, which itself is owned by Salini.

Together, Salini and SA Healy will work on the Three Rivers Protection & Overflow Reduction Tunnel (or 3RPORT) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The project will include the construction of a deep rock tunnel, drop shafts and consolidation sewers, intended to convey combined sewer overflow from eight locations close to the St Mary and Maumee rivers.

The aim of the project is to reduce (by as much as 90%) the sewage overflow into the rivers, which has tended to occur during periods of heavy rain.

Work on the tunnel is set to begin shortly, with completion expected by mid-2021.

The contract is the fourth won in the US by the Salini-Healy JV partnership; the latest counts towards the total €1.7 billion (US$1.28 billion) worth of contracts won by Salini Impregilo so far this year.