(The Center Square) – Thirty-one construction workers escaped safely Wednesday night after an underground effluent tunnel partially collapsed near the Los Angeles Harbor.
Officials said none of the workers suffered major injuries at the Clearwater Tunnel, which is in the city of Carson.
Part of the tunnel, which is being built for $630.5 million for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, collapsed at approximately 7:45 p.m. at about the 5-mile mark, according to a statement from the districts. The districts said the shaft site and point of access is on their property, adjacent to the A.K. Warren Water Resource Facility.
“The Clearwater Tunnel is still under construction and was not expected to enter service for several more years,” the districts said. “It is designed to carry treated effluent, not sewage, and there is no risk to the environment.”
An investigation by contractors and the districts has begun into the tunnel’s safety, engineering and structural integrity, according to the statement. Operations have been halted while the investigation takes place, the districts said. It’s not known how long the investigation will take.
The Los Angeles Fire Department sent more than 100 responders to the tunnel near 1701 Figueroa St. after getting a call around 8 p.m. The workers were checked by the department’s paramedics.
The sanitation districts said some of the construction workers were treated for minor injuries.
The workers got to safety, one at a time, across a 12- to 15-foot pile of dirt before the fire department’s rescuers arrived, according to a fire department news release.
“Colleagues then ferried them more than five miles in a tunnel transport vehicle to the safety of the access portal,” the fire department said.
In a post on X, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she talked to many of the workers at the site.
“Thank you to all of our brave first responders who acted immediately,” Bass said. “You are L.A.’s true heroes.”
Flatiron Dragados, the primary contractor building the tunnel, said on its website that the tunnel will be 7 miles long with an 18-foot diameter and is 450 feet underground.
Construction is scheduled to finish in 2027 at Royal Palms Beach, according to the sanitation districts’ Clearwater website. It said the project will carry treated water to the Pacific Ocean from the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant in Carson.
The new tunnel is being built because of concerns over the current, aging tunnels, which were built in 1937 and 1958, and those tunnels’ limited capacity, according to the districts.
