The subterranean Construction Association awarded the largest neutrino experiment in the United States Project of the Year for successfully completing a major and difficult subterranean construction project with few or no problems.
The Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota has received the esteemed 2026 Project of the Year Award from the Underground Construction Association. DUNE, a state-of-the-art neutrino experiment housed by the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, consists of three enormous caverns situated one mile below the surface. Massive detectors and a whole lab system devoted to neutrino research will be housed in the subterranean area.
“The dedicated engineering teams that designed, excavated, and built the enormous caverns in South Dakota, completed the project successfully and with an impeccable safety record,” stated Fermilab Director Norbert Holtkamp. “Well done to the design and construction teams for achieving this important milestone. In the US, no such project has ever been constructed. I sincerely thank them as we go on to the next phase of making the underground laboratory a reality.
For a project in the $100M–$500M range, LBNF took home the prize. Engineers from Arup, Delve Underground, Fermilab, Kiewit-Alberici Joint Venture, SURF, and Thyssen Mining, Inc. worked on the construction teams for the LBNF/DUNE project. Together, they created two enormous caverns that are 65 feet wide, 92 feet tall, and 495 feet long (20 meters by 28 meters by 150 meters), pushing the boundaries of geotechnical engineering. The new research facility’s three caves cover a subterranean space around the size of eight soccer fields.
This honor, according to Mike Headley, executive director of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority and director of SURF’s laboratory, was made possible by more than 20 years of visionary leadership, kind donations, and hard work.
“I think this UCA award is fantastic because it acknowledges the enormous scope of this project,” Headley remarked. Regarding the project’s safety record, Headley remarked, “Building something like this on the surface would be challenging enough; it’s so impressive that through the cooperation of multiple partners, we have this enormous accomplishment nearly a mile underground.” SURF recorded more than one million hours during construction without experiencing a lost-time incident.
“A project team or group that exhibits insight and understanding of underground construction or a significant project—which may include practices, developing concepts, theories, or technologies to overcome unusual problems within a project, resulting in little to no outstanding issues—is awarded the UCA Project of the Year Awards.”
At the distant location, excavation work started in early 2019 and was finished in February 2024. Over 800,000 tons of rock were extracted from about 5,000 feet (1,520 meters) below earth during that time as historic rock-handling systems were expanded and restored to prepare the subterranean areas for the DUNE project. The rock ascended the restored mile-deep Ross shaft at SURF and proceeded to a sizable former mine region known as the Open Cut via an above-ground conveyor that was three-quarters of a mile long. The three long cut-out caves that make up LBNF will store two far detector modules each, arranged end to end, while the third cavern will hold cryogenics equipment and other utilities needed to keep the potent detectors operating.
With a great safety record of 1,135,105 hours worked without any lost-time injuries, the excavation was safely completed.
In order to answer some of the most important questions regarding our cosmos, DUNE scientists will investigate the behavior of enigmatic particles known as neutrinos. Why is matter the building block of our universe? How does a black hole form when a star explodes? Do neutrinos have a connection to dark matter or other unidentified particles? More than 1,500 scientists and engineers from more than 35 nations are involved in the project, which is the biggest neutrino collaboration in history.
The top national laboratory in the United States for accelerator and particle physics research is Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. For the United States, Fermilab is run by Fermi Forward Discovery Group. Office of Science, Department of Energy
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