Market flood-control project put on 'pause'

Image by Flickr user alykat

The undertaking intended to relieve the downtown Market area of the excessive flooding it endures during inclement weather has been delayed due to an increase in cost after the recent discovery of an abandoned and potentially dangerous tunnel beneath the ground.

The hitch translates to 206 days of extra work for engineers and will force them to plunge 60 feet deeper than originally anticipated in order to dig a pump shaft on the harbor side of the Customs House. It also will require $2.7 million to cover the necessary expenses, which include deeper digging and infusing more concrete to secure the tunnel which is approximately 140 feet under ground. 

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