In British Columbia, Canada the Evergreen Line is being driven by TBM Alice, named for Alice Wilson, born in 1881 in Cobourg (Ontario) and the first woman to hold a professional position at the Geological Survey of Canada. The TBM is parked under Clarke Road and Seaview Drive in Port Moody as part of planned regular maintenance to inspect and replace the cutterhead tools. Crews undertook ground improvements to strengthen the soils in front of the TBM in March.

During the maintenance operation, some ground material entered the TBM chamber, resulting in a hole in the asphalt in Clarke Road. This has since been filled with cement grout and additional ground improvements undertaken to stabilize the ground in front of the TBM.

Soon, tunnel boring will continue to the south tunnel portal located just south of Kemsley Avenue on the west side of Clarke Road in summer, 2015. The TBM will then be removed and crews will begin the installation of concrete within the tunnel, followed by track work and power systems. The Evergreen Line will be complete in the fall of 2016. Click here and ca/29 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit http://www.evergreenline.gov.bc.ca. 17/15.