The Northeast Boundary Tunnel (NEBT), the biggest component of DC Water’s Clean Rivers Project in Washington, D.C., is a sewer tunnel that increases the capacity of the District’s sewer system, significantly mitigating the frequency, magnitude and duration of sewer flooding and improving the water quality of the Anacostia River.

The NEBT runs for 26,700 feet from just south of Robert F. Kennedy Stadium to the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue NW and 6th Street NW. It is aligned to intersect the existing chronic flood areas along Rhode Island Avenue NW. 

The NEBT project also included the construction of ventilation control facilities, stormwater inlets, and green infrastructure. It is connected to the other Clean Rivers Project tunnels, and it helps reduce combined sewer overflows to the Anacostia River by 98 percent and the chance of flooding in the areas it serves from about 50 percent to seven percent in any given year. ​

In times of flooding, the tunnel will receive flows from the sewer system captured by diversion facilities and convey them to DC Water’s Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant. 

Contractor: The Lane Construction Corporation (U.S. subsidiary of the Webuild Group)