The UCA Tunnel Watch List spotlights the most important tunneling and underground construction projects in the United States, illustrating the positive impact these projects bring the public. Tunnels bring remarkable benefits to infrastructure projects, including sustainability, reliability and safety.
These 20 projects include well-known multi-billion dollar transportation projects that will eventually carry millions of people underground, as well as combined overflow sewage projects that very few people will ever see in the inside of.
2023 Tunnel Watch List
| TUNNEL | LOCATION | TYPE |
| Gateway Tunnel Project | NY/NJ | Transit |
| US 64 Corridor K Tunnel | Polk County, TN | Highway |
| Delta Conveyance | Sacramento, CA | Water |
| Sepulveda Pass | Los Angeles, CA | Transit |
| Eastside Transit Corridor - Phase 2 | Los Angeles, CA | Transit |
| Silver Line Extension | Boston, MA | Transit |
| Austin Connect Project - Public Transit Downtown Tunnel | Austin, TX | Transit |
| West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor - Phase 2 | Los Angeles, CA | Transit |
| Red Line Blue Line Connector | Boston, MA | Transit |
| Ontario Int'l Airport and Cucamonga Station Tunnel | San Bernardino, CA | Transit |
| Horizontal Lateral Project | Las Vegas, NV | Water |
| White Pine Pump Storage Hydropower Project | Ely, NY | Energy |
| CSO Control Parallel Interceptor | Newark, NJ | Wastewater |
| California High Speed Rail | Los Angeles, CA - San Fransisco, CA |
Transit |
| Lowell Creek Flood Diversion | Seward, AK | Water |
| Ballard Extension | Seattle, WA | Transit |
| West Seattle Extension | Seattle, WA | Transit |
| Steel Bridge Replacement Tunnel (Tri-met Tunnel) | Portland, OR | Transit |
| Amtrak Hub - Redevelopment | Chicago, IL | Transit |
| Houston Flood Control Tunnels | Houston, TX | Wastewater |
Selection Criteria
A number of factors were considered when selecting projects for the Tunnel Watch List including the cumulative benefits of the project both regionally and nationally with an emphasis on societal and environmental benefits and not just economic benefits. Geography was a factor as well as the need to help promote projects that may need funding or are particularly important to their local community, or any other reason to justify why the public needs to be aware of the need for this infrastructure.
Tunnel Watch List Selection Committee
Greg Hallet, Amalgamated Mining & Tunneling, Inc.
Greg Hauser, JCK Underground Inc.
Robert Goodfellow, Aldea Services Inc.
Mark Johnson, Jacobs
Erika Moonin, Moonin and Associates
Mike Rispin, Strata Worldwide
Michael Roach, Traylor Bros. Inc.
Jim Rush, Benjamin Media
Grover Vargas, Strata Worldwide
Michael Vitale, Mott MacDonald
