MANCHESTER– “Granite Janet” will make history in the city of Manchester, as will two Hillside Middle School 7th graders. A research project by Aaron Nicholas and Jullien Santos earned them the opportunity to name the tunnel boring machine (TB machine) specifically designed for use in the Manchester Cemetery Brook Drain Tunnel project. The years-long project will reconstruct the city’s current drainage system to reduce sewer overflows that can discharge into the Merrimack River after heavy rainfall.
Students at all four middle schools were presented with a one-week project last November to come up with a name for the TB Machine. Certain criteria had to be met including that it needed to be a female name, needed to have a connection to the purpose of the Tunnel Project, and needed to connect to the function of the machine.
The opportunity came together through the collaboration of Mayor Jay Ruais office, Methuen Construction Company, and the school district.
“Together, we invited our 7th-grade students to participate in a meaningful, performance-based learning experience that connects classroom learning to real-world impact,” says Dr. Chmiel.
Nicholas and Santos came up with the name “Granite Janet” after Janet Bonnema, an American civil engineer and women’s rights activist who was hired as an engineering technician for the Eisenhower Tunnel construction project in 1970. She eventually became one of the first women allowed to work in tunnel construction.
“This was a moment where learning met purpose, where student voice met civic impact, and where Manchester’s future was shaped,” says Dr. Chmiel.
The “Granite Janet” TB Machine will play a major role in the $365 million Cemetery Brook Drain Tunnel project, cutting a more than two-mile long, 12-foot diameter pipeline 80 miles underground from an inlet near Mammoth Road to an outfall in the Merrimack River. It’s expected to take three years to construct, with an additional decade spent connecting existing storm drains to the new system.
