Come learn about the Southerly Tunnel Project, a large-scale soft ground TBM tunnel built by McNally Corporation.

The Southerly Tunnel and Consolidation Project is the 7th of 8 major CSO tunnel projects for the city of Cleveland's Project Clean Lake program. This presentation will consist of a project overview for Southerly, as well as a recap of the work completed in the second half of 2025. This includes the TBM launch, 500' of initial mining and resetting the site for full production (lowering gantries & installing conveyors. There will be plenty of Q&A time to explore the Southerly work further as well as a discussion on things you can do as a student to help better set yourself up for success in a career as a general contractor. 

Presenting on this topic is Rob Hoefer, the tunnel manager, at Southerly.  Since his graduation from CSM in 2012, Rob has worked for the Kiewit Underground District on a variety of projects across the US and Canada, with a range of scopes including soft ground EPB TBM tunneling and conventional drill & shoot excavation. He currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio where he has worked on the Shoreline Tunnel before transitioning over to the Southerly Tunnel.