Final leg of tunnelling starts for Eglinton Crosstown West
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- Final leg of tunnelling starts for Eglinton Crosstown West
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Major construction expands across entire route of 9.2-kilometre extension.
April 15 – Crews have started digging the tunnels that will connect the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension to the existing terminus of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT (to be known as Line 5 Eglinton when it opens) at Mount Dennis Station.
The extension will make Line 5 Eglinton another expansive east-west rapid transit line for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), running all the way from Scarborough, through midtown Toronto and into Mississauga. The project will add seven new stations to Line 5 Eglinton’s 25 stations and stops.
Last year, the contract to design and build the second underground segment of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension was awarded to Strabag Inc.
Construction is underway as crews start digging the tunnels connecting the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension to the western end of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT (to be known as Line 5 Eglinton when it opens) at Mount Dennis Station. (Metrolinx photo)
The 500-metre twin tunnels are being built using the sequential excavation method, which is often used for smaller sections of tunnels. With this method, the area to be tunnelled is divided into smaller sections and excavated in sequence. Concrete is then sprayed onto the tunnel walls as the sections are excavated to reinforce the exposed walls. About one to two metres of tunnel are excavated each day.
Last spring, Renny and Rexy, the twin tunnel boring machines that excavated the western tunnelled section of the line, completed their 6.3-kilometre journey. The twins spent two years carefully carving out two tunnels that start at Renforth Drive and end at Scarlett Road, where the future rapid transit line will come to the surface and transition to an above-ground section.
Excavation crews are going to dig at a rate of about one to two metres each day. (Metrolinx image)
Construction is also marching ahead for another important segment of the line – the 1.5-kilometre elevated guideway that will run over the Humber River. Crews started work this spring on the foundations and piers of the bridge, which will span from just west of Scarlett Road to just east of Jane Street.
With major construction now underway across the entire route of the project, the vision of bringing more rapid transit to thousands of people in west Toronto and Mississauga is coming more and more into focus.
To keep up with progress on construction, follow the Eglinton Crosstown West on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
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