| The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (abbreviated TARP and more commonly known as the Deep Tunnel Project or the Chicago Deep Tunnel) is one of the largest civil engineering projects ever undertaken in terms of scope, money and timeframe. The goal of the Deep Tunnel Project is to reduce flooding in the metropolitan Chicago area, and to reduce the harmful effects of flushing raw sewage into Lake Michigan by diverting storm and sewage water into temporary holding reservoirs. The project is managed by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The project was commissioned in the mid 1970s. Full completion of the system is not anticipated until 2019, but substantial portions of the system have already opened and are currently operational. Across 30 years of construction, over $3 billion has been spent on the project Reference |  |