On August 11, 1990, the Arizona Department of Transportation opened the Deck Park Tunnel in Central Phoenix. It was the final mile of Interstate 10 to be completed, creating a transcontinental stretch of road spanning from Santa Monica, CA to Jacksonville, FL. Back then, roughly 80,000 cars flowed through the tunnel on a given day. Today that number is more than 240,000.
To keep the tunnel well lit and safe, the city replaces lights and cleans soot from the walls about three times a year. Shortly before the tunnels 20th birthday, it was noted that water was leaking down into the tunnel service areas. As time went by, the degree of leaking throughout the tunnel increased. The current concern is that water infiltrating into the tunnel systems may cause ventilation or electrical systems to fail and force closure of the tunnel to traffic.
To help prevent closures, Civiltec is working with the City of Phoenix on a plan to mitigate the irrigation and storm water infiltration.