LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville's Metropolitan Sewer District provided a glimpse Thursday of what life was like hundreds of millions of years ago.
The Kentucky Geological Survey accepted 2 tons of geological history for study and educational use. MSD's Waterway Protection Tunnel construction donated rock core samples to the KGS.
"One key finding during sampling was notable amounts of Waldron Shale, a type of rock native to Indiana which easily fragments," project geologist W. Todd Tharpe, a senior engineering geologist with Black & Veatch, said in a news release. "This discovery determined the tunnel would have to be dug 20-feet deeper than originally planned."
Construction of the Waterway Protection Tunnel began underground in 2018 at the 12th and Rowan streets site. The tunnel is 4 miles long and part of it is below the Ohio River.
The core samples are housed inside 72 wooden boxes and each weight 55 pounds.
The fossils found in the core samples are similar to the ones seen at the fossil beds at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.
MSD's interactive display of the cores is located at the Kentucky Science Center.
To learn more, click here.
More on the tunnel project:
- 'Sins of the past' | MSD puts cap on $200M tunnel project to protect Ohio River
- With 18-story tunnel complete, MSD hands off downtown Louisville site for Waterfront Park expansion
- MSD stormwater tunnel nearing completion 200 feet beneath Louisville
- MSD's underground tunnel project hits delays, goes over budget
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