Metrolinx reached another milestone for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension with the second TBM, named Rexy, starting the journey from Renforth Drive to Scarlett Road. The second tunnel for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension is now underway.   

Tunnelling on the project started last spring, with Renny, one of the two 6.58 m high, 131 m long, 750 t weight TBMs digging the roughly 6-km tunnels, leading the charge. Since April, the TBM has tunnelled over 650 m, travelling 10 to 15 m/day.  

Rexy and Renny didn’t start tunnelling at the same time, because the space inside the launch shaft can only accommodate one TBM launch at a time and because the tunnelling team can learn a lot from the first TBM that they can apply when the second machine starts tunnelling.  

Rexy and Renny will continue this pattern over the next twenty months. Renny will reach the extraction shaft just west of Scarlett Road first, with Rexy following behind.  

These tunnels will form a large part of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, which will expand the Eglinton Crosstown light rail transit (LRT) line another 9.2 km west, to Renforth Drive. Plans are also being explored to extend the line even further to Pearson International Airport.  

After the TBMs are pulled out of the ground near Scarlett Road, the route will transition to an elevated section, passing over the Humber River, before heading back underground just east of Jane Street, where the extension will connect to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Mount Dennis Station.  

For more information click here and ca/39 for tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://blog.metrolinx.com/. 32/22.