Lynchburg Finishes Drilling Phase of Blackwater CSO Tunnel

The City of Lynchburg announced July 13, 2026, that crews had completed the drill-and-blast phase of the Blackwater Combined Sewer Overflow tunnel project, a milestone in the largest capital project in city history.

The completed excavated path runs from the construction site at the bottom of 7th Street in downtown Lynchburg to the CSO 52 site along the Point of Honor Trail, east of Hollins Mill Dam, according to city information.

The announcement marks the end of the tunnel’s drilling phase—not the completion of the entire project. The Blackwater CSO project remains an ongoing construction effort and is moving into its next phase.

What the milestone means

The project is intended to address combined-sewer-overflow infrastructure and improve water-quality protection. Its route connects a downtown construction site with infrastructure near the Blackwater Creek watershed, making the work relevant to both central Lynchburg and the area around the Point of Honor Trail.

Combined sewer overflow projects are infrastructure efforts tied to systems that manage wastewater and stormwater. In Lynchburg’s case, the city describes the tunnel as part of its Blackwater Combined Sewer Overflow project. The approved city material does not provide performance data showing a specific reduction in overflow events, so the drilling milestone should not be treated as proof that such a reduction has already occurred.

For the city, the immediate change is physical progress on a major underground construction component. Completing the drill-and-blast work establishes the excavated connection between the 7th Street site and CSO 52. It also provides a public update on work that affects downtown Lynchburg and the Blackwater Creek watershed.

The project is not finished

The city’s description of the July 13 milestone is limited to the drill-and-blast phase. Other work associated with the tunnel project remains ahead, and the project continues as a construction development.

That distinction matters because the tunnel is one part of a broader wastewater infrastructure undertaking. The city has identified the project as its largest capital project, but the reviewed official material does not give a final project completion date or an updated total cost.

The next known step is continued construction after the drilling milestone. The available announcement does not specify a detailed schedule for that work, a final opening date, or additional project cost figures.

A downtown and watershed project

The tunnel’s endpoints show the geographic reach of the work. It begins near 7th Street in downtown Lynchburg and extends toward CSO 52 near the Point of Honor Trail and Hollins Mill Dam. That places the project within an area where construction activity and infrastructure decisions can affect downtown access while also serving a water-quality purpose.

With the drilling phase complete, Lynchburg has reached a significant construction checkpoint. The broader question for residents is when the remaining work will be finished and when the completed system will begin delivering the water-quality protections the project is intended to provide. The city’s July announcement confirms progress, but it does not establish those final dates or outcomes.