The James River Crossing (JRX) is a wastewater force-main crossing beneath the James River—not a treatment plant or an aquifer-recharge project. Its role is to carry raw wastewater toward Hampton Roads Sanitation District’s Nansemond Treatment Plant, where the separate SWIFT process further treats water for recharge to the Potomac Aquifer. ENR named JRX its 2026 MidAtlantic Project of the Year and Best Project in Water/Environment.
What the James River Crossing carries—and what it does not do
JRX is the underwater portion of a pipeline link from the Boat Harbor Pump Station to a land pipeline carrying raw wastewater to the Nansemond Treatment Plant and SWIFT facility. The crossing transports wastewater; it does not clean the water or replenish the aquifer itself. ENR’s project report describes the crossing and its construction, while HRSD explains how SWIFT treats water for recharge.
The distinction matters because the pipeline is one part of a larger water system. SWIFT gives wastewater that would otherwise be discharged to local waterways further advanced treatment. HRSD says the resulting water is highly treated to meet drinking-water standards and is suitable for recharge to the Potomac Aquifer. Recharge is intended to help address declining groundwater levels and may help reduce saltwater intrusion and land subsidence; the program also aims to reduce nutrient discharges. These are program aims and potential benefits, not measured effects attributed to the JRX crossing.
Why the 5,700-foot channel crossing was an engineering challenge
The design-build contract was awarded to Garney and Dewberry in April 2022. The project installed more than 4.5 miles of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) force main beneath the James River, including a 5,700-foot horizontal directional drilling (HDD) pullback under the Newport News Shipping Channel. ENR reports the pipe pullback took 22 hours, within a 24-hour, single-shot drilling operation that could not be restarted.
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The route crossed a busy corridor used by commercial shipping and naval operations. The project had to limit in-water disturbance and avoid disrupting vessel traffic while placing a large-diameter wastewater line through challenging subsurface conditions. HRSD specified HDPE for the brackish-water setting and sought a pipeline design life of at least 75 years, according to ENR.
Why the team chose a longer bore instead of two marine platforms
The initial concept called for an approximately 3,200-foot crossing using two marine platforms. A proposed platform could have congested the area near a fuel-oil depot and two docked Navy vessels. The team instead lengthened the HDD to eliminate the second platform, reducing in-water work and potential disruption. ENR reports that this design change saved more than $10 million in the budget.
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The longer route also raised installation risk. ENR reports that the team cited roughly 4,000 feet as the longest known prior 42-inch HDPE HDD at the specified wall thickness. The 5,700-foot pull therefore required additional confidence in the ground conditions, pipe behavior and installation method before the one-shot operation.
How the pipe and installation method were adapted
Different diameters for the channel and the rest of the route
For the one-mile stretch beneath the shipping channel, the team used 42-inch DR-11 HDPE, whose thicker wall was selected to handle installation demands. Other portions use 48-inch and 54-inch pipe. ENR reports those larger diameters were chosen to reduce pumping head and energy use over the system’s life. This was a project-specific design, not a universal pipe specification.
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A pusher to manage tensile loads
HDPE is more flexible than steel but cannot withstand the same tensile loads. To supplement the drill’s pull and limit net tensile stress on the pipe, the project used a custom-built pipe pusher capable of applying up to 750,000 pounds of force. The team also tightened the allowable pipe ovality—from a standard 5% to 3%—to control deformation during installation.
Before the pullback, the team performed supplemental geotechnical borings and a pilot drill to check subsurface conditions and confirm alignment. Dewberry’s Paul Longo explained the material choice to ENR: “They wanted to never have to go back in [to fix] it and the risk of a coating system failing is higher than the fact that HDPE is a full wall of corrosion resistant thermoplastics.”
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Route and material changes that reduced cost and disturbance
- Realigning the work to avoid privately leased oyster beds saved approximately $2 million, according to ENR.
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Completion, construction cost and award
ENR reports that the four-year project finished on time in January 2026. Its reported construction cost was $139 million, $14 million below the original proposal price. ENR named JRX both its 2026 MidAtlantic Project of the Year and Best Project in Water/Environment.
The regional awards program reviewed nearly 75 projects from Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, selecting 35 projects in 16 categories. Its stated judging criteria included how teams overcame challenges, design and construction quality, safety, innovation, best practices and community benefit, according to ENR’s judging summary.
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How the crossing connects to Potomac Aquifer replenishment
After JRX carries wastewater to the Nansemond facility, SWIFT’s advanced treatment process produces water suitable for aquifer recharge. HRSD says the James River SWIFT facility is intended to recharge up to 16 million gallons per day. HRSD describes up to 100 million gallons per day as the intended recharge capacity of the broader SWIFT program when completed. These are stated capacities and intentions, not figures for measured current output.
The Nansemond SWIFT Research Center is a separate demonstration facility. HRSD says it began replenishing the Potomac Aquifer in May 2018; it should not be confused with the James River Crossing or treated as evidence of a measured aquifer response caused by JRX.
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