Rosie, a massive tunnel boring machine, will dig the Ohio Canal Interceptor Tunnel, which at $184 million, is the centerpiece of Akron's $1.4 billion sewer project, known as Akron Waterways Renewed!

Rosie is ready for testing

AKRON, Ohio -- Rosie, Akron's massive tunnel boring machine, is now completely built and ready to be tested before it's shipped to the city in June, officials said on Thursday.



Built by the Robbins Company in Solon, Rosie will be dismantled and shipped in pieces to Akron, where she'll be reassembled.



The machine will bore the Ohio Canal Interceptor Tunnel, which at $184 million, is the centerpiece of Akron's $1.4 billion sewer project, known as Akron Waterways Renewed!



The following is a closer look at Rosie, the tunnel boring machine.



-- Jennifer Conn, cleveland.com

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18 months to build

The Robbins Company has worked for 18 months to build Rosie, which weighs 1,000 tons.

The white outer "can" is called the shield with an outside diameter of 30 feet. From front to back the shield is 75 feet long.



Rosie's "face" is in four parts, with one piece weighing 300,000 pounds.

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Named after Akron's own 'Rosie the Riveter'

Akron held a contest to name the machine. The winner name was Mary Rose Jacob, after an Akronite who died in 2014.

Described as Akron's own Rosie the Riveter, Jacob started building aircraft wings at Firestone Aircraft during World War II, when she was a junior in high school.

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Designed to maintain consistent speed

Mayor Dan Horrigan inspects Rosie's face.

In action, the machine, with cutters attached, will bore through 5 1/2 feet of earth per hour, eventually creating nearly 6,300 feet of new sewer tunnel around Akron's downtown area.

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Akronites make up 30 percent of project workforce

The project is on time and on budget, Horrigan said.

Throughout the project, the city has aimed to keep the work in Akron. So far, 30 percent of the jobs are held by Akronites, a number the city wants to raise to 35 percent before the work ends.

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Many parts made locally

With the cuttinghead, a shield, the face, 75 feet of trailing gear and a series of conveyors, many of Rosie's parts were locally made including:

the 30-foot diameter, 1.5-inch thick steel shield for Rosie's cutter head made in Youngstown

most bearings on the cutter head manufactured in Canton

concrete segments for the pipe manufactured in Macedonia

gaskets for the concrete segments manufactured in Mogadore

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Behind the shield

Dave Chastka, project manager for Kenny Construction Co., explains some of the pumps, motors and controls located just behind Rosie's shield.

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A network of parts and components

Rosie is built from a vast series of components, many new and some used.

Walkways run the entire length of the machine for the crews that will be underground during drilling.

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The control desk

Rosie's operator and crews will come into the tunnel on a small train and stay underground for 10 hours at a time.

From here, the operator will work the controls that handle propulsion, cutterhead rotation, back-up systems, and ground conditioning, such as stabilizing ground in front of machine.

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Trailing gear

Behind the shield section, Rosie's "trailing gear" brings the entire length of the machine to 325 feet.

It will be equipped with a series of internal and exterior conveyors to keep the earth moving out of the machine as the tunnel is dug.

Trucks will work overnight to haul the dirt away from each of the three Akron excavation sites.

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The move

The team will begin moving major pieces of Rosie in mid-June, with the face in four parts.

The workers don't anticipate having to close roads to bring the machine to Akron, but some bridges will be kept clear because of weight issues, as Rosie makes the trek from Solon to Akron.

Boring the tunnel will begin in August.

For more information about the project, visit Akron Waterways Renewed!