BUFFALO, N.Y. — National Grid is digging deep to upgrade its ability to deliver electricity, and the company is going underneath the Buffalo River to make it happen.

The utility company is digging a 422-foot-long tunnel below the river from Ohio Street to Ganson Street as it works to improve the city’s electrical system with the anticipation of a need for more power.

National Grid will place new underground wires and equipment to replace what it says is some of the oldest electric infrastructure in the world, with parts dating back to the late 1800s.

Growing commercial business in Buffalo has increased demand on the system as they look toward the future. 

National Grid leaders say they’ve had no discussions about a new Bills Stadium in the city and the need for more electricity. They say it’s about anticipating what could be on the way. Regional Director Ken Kujawa pointed to the Tesla facility at Riverbend and the need to connect that area with the Ohio Street corridor and the Outer Harbor.

Crews are using a machine built in Germany they compare to a giant coffee grinder. It’s almost 14 feet long and weighs 29 tons. The machine will cut through the ground using spinning knives and discs, remove the limestone and install a six-foot wide tube more than 50 feet below the surface, and 18 feet under the bottom of the river. It's the first time National Grid has used this technology in the United States.

The $11 million tunnel from Ohio Street to Ganson Street on the other side of the river will be complete in about three weeks. The entire upgrade should be complete by July.