Drainage systems in downtown Minneapolis were experiencing capacity problems, so the City of Minneapolis hired Barr to develop an XP-SWMM model of the Central City, Chicago Avenue, and 11th Avenue drainage systems and perform a feasibility study of the Central City tunnel system.
First, Barr developed a detailed model of each of the tunnel systems. Then, the model of the Central City tunnel system was used to conduct a feasibility study to investigate its hydraulic capacity and identify alternatives to mitigate its existing capacity problems. We provided the city with a recommended alternative for addressing the existing capacity issues. The project is now in the final design phase.