In the last six months Renny, the first TBM to start tunnelling between Renforth Drive and Scarlett Road for the contractor West End Connectors Construction (WECC) has tunnelled 1.9 km, while Rexy, the second TBM, has tunnelled 1.1 km since late July. The soil and rock are taken out of the tunnels on conveyor belts and transferred to the muck pit.
When these two TBMs are finished, they will have dug more than 6 km of tunnel between Renforth Drive and just west of Scarlett Road – a significant section of the 9.2-km route.
With the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension it will be possible to travel quickly and easily from the east end of Toronto, through the heart of the city and into Mississauga — no transfers needed.
Headwalls
Last spring started the construction of headwalls, the underground support structures made up of piles - drilled into the ground using large drill rigs, which are usually over 33 m high - that create a watertight wall around the area of future subway stations and emergency exit buildings.
Since the headwalls must be built before the TBMs arrive at each location, their construction is moving from west to east along the alignment ahead of the arrival of the TBMs. Each headwall needs about four to eight months to be built.
Headwall construction at Martin Grove Avenue - started this spring -has been completed in October, while construction at Kipling Avenue started this summer and will wrap up in spring 2023.
Work for the emergency exit building at Wincott Drive also began this summer and will last until next spring.
Headwall work at Islington is expected to begin later this fall and last until the spring of 2023, while headwall construction at Royal York is slated to begin in the winter.
Realigning Eglinton Avenue West
Once Renny and Rexy reach their destination just west of Scarlett Avenue, they will be dismantled and removed from the ground through an extraction shaft. This shaft is also the portal for where the trains will transition between the tunnel and the elevated guideway. Construction for the extraction shaft will begin this winter – but first crews are making room by shifting Eglinton Avenue West 10 metres (or 33 feet) south.
For more information click here and ca/39 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://blog.metrolinx.com/ and https://www.metrolinx.com. 46/22.
