Tampa Bay Water Blog

Close-up of construction equipment
05Mar
South Hillsborough Pipeline Construction Advances Across Multiple Tunnel Sites
Construction, | | Return

As Hillsborough County continues to grow, the South Hillsborough Pipeline will play a vital role in ensuring a reliable water supply for the community—residents, businesses, hospitals, schools, fire rescue and other essential services.  

Once completed, this 5-foot diameter pipeline will be able to deliver up to 65 million gallons per day to Hillsborough County. The pipeline will serve both the Lithia Water Treatment Plan and a new Hillsborough County drinking water plant planned for the Balm area. 

Construction of South Hillsborough Pipeline is underway, with work starting at multiple tunnel locations. There are 17 tunnel locations throughout the pipeline route to minimize impacts to roadways and waterways, beginning with: 

  • Fishhawk Boulevard for a tunnel under Fishhawk Creek 
  • South Kings Avenue for a tunnel beneath Bloomingdale Avenue 
  • 7202 Alafia Ridge Road and 4142 Alafia Blvd. for a tunnel beneath the Alafia River 
  • Limona Road for a tunnel under the CSX railroad crossing 
  • South Parsons Avenue/John Moore Road to begin work for a tunnel beneath Lumsden Road 

Crews have also mobilized, or will soon mobilize at:  

  • South Kings Avenue, both north and south of the intersection, for open-trench construction to re-open the intersection 
  • South Kings Avenue open-trench construction from Buckhorn Creek Drive to Kingwood Elementary school to complete this work while school is out for the summer. 
  • Boyette Road from Pure Pebble Drive to Bell Shoals Road for median removal to prepare for a tunnel beneath Bell Creek and Bell Shoals Road 
  • South side of Fishhawk Boulevard for a horizontal directional drill under Little Fishhawk Creek 

About 24 of the pipeline’s 26 miles will be installed by open-trench construction, which will begin in the spring. 

While construction is underway, we’re committed to maintaining access to the businesses along the pipeline path, and we encourage the community to support these local shops and services throughout the project. 

Stay current with road closures, detour information and project updates by signing up for email alerts at SouthHillsboroughPipeline.com.