The winners of the 33rd edition of the Projects of the Year contest, run by the magazine Trenchless Technology, were made public on 24 September. The announcement came during a Trenchless Perspectives Live webinar marking World Trenchless Day. Two groups of awards are handed out: new installation and rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation
The top rehabilitation award went to the Northwest Interceptor Rehabilitation scheme in Winnipeg, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The interceptor is an unreinforced concrete sewer of 60 inches in diameter that runs under a railway line at a depth of 45 ft toward the North End Water Pollution Control Center; it dates from the late 1970s. Worth 2.8 million dollars and covering 1,300 ft, the fast-tracked job relied on CIPP to renew the conduit in winter conditions that dropped to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
The scheme was procured under design-bid-build. It also applied findings from the fourth phase of a NASSCO study into how styrene and elevated temperatures affect wastewater treatment processes driven by biochemical oxygen demand. Wrapping up the work produced savings of over 11 million dollars across the wider undertaking.
Further rehabilitation entries were noted: the MWRD Northshore Sliplining Project around Chicago (runner-up), the Port Authority Logistics Park Infrastructure Improvements in Alabama, and the HOVMSD Fox River Interceptor Rehabilitation in Kaukauna, Wisconsin (both honourable mentions).
New installation
In the new installation group the award went to the Tri-City Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) in Oregon City, Oregon. The job delivered a new wastewater outfall of 90 inches in diameter. Michels and AECOM carried out the installation together with Clackamas Water Environment Services, Jacobs, Thompson Pipe Group and further partners. The works covered an open-cut stretch, a curved microtunnel drive and the fitting of a diffuser in the Willamette River.
Faced with restricted space on site and environmental limits, the team chose to lay the pipeline in a single continuous microtunnel drive. The route took in one horizontal bend and three vertical ones below roads, parkland, utilities and protected areas. A dual-structural pipe was used, pairing a corrosion-resistant FRP pressure pipe with a reinforced concrete jacking pipe so the assembly could carry the heavy loads generated by a curved drive.
Other new installation entries were also recognised: the NorthRiver Midstream NEBC Connector in British Columbia and Alberta, built for NorthRiver Midstream (runner-up), along with the Giga Factory Texas Offsite Wastewater Interceptor for Tesla in Texas and the Pleasure Bay Interceptor for the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey (honourable mentions).
What comes next
The winning schemes are featured in the October 2026 issue. The awards themselves will be presented at the NASTT No-Dig Show 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Entries are weighed by the committees on technical merit, how complex the job was, the milestones and records set, and on cooperation and the contribution made to the industry. Submissions for the 2027 edition open in October; the magazine takes North American schemes finished between 17 June 2026 and 16 June 2027.
