Vancouver Celebrates Breakthrough of Canada Line TunnelThe Canada Line rapid transit project reached a major milestone on 2nd March, 2008 when a 440-tonne, 86 m-long Lovat tunnel boring machine operated by the SNC-Lavalin Constructors Pacific (SLCP)-SELI joint venture broke through the ground into the future site of the Waterfront station four weeks ahead of schedule. The breakthrough of the second of two parallel tunnels was marked by a ceremony attended by British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, several Canada Line officials, the workers who have been on the project and 200 delighted onlookers at the deep subway pit along Granville Street. BC Premier Gordon Campbell gave the final command to break through and then presented each worker with a medal celebrating no lost time or accidents for the bored tunnel. Visit www.selitunnel.com, www.snc-lavalin.com and www.lovat.comWith the completion of the second (inbound) tunnel, the 2nd Avenue tunnel boring worksite will be transformed so that construction of the Canada Line's Waterfront station can proceed. The open pit along Granville Street can be closed as soon as the TBM is hauled out. After that is completed later this month, the station can be finished. While some station work has already taken place, the worksite has been used primarily for tunnel boring operations.The pair of tunnels stretches from Granville and Pender in downtown Vancouver to Cambie on False Creek South, a distance of 2.5 kilometres. The tunnels vary between 10 and 30 metres deep as they wind their way under the downtown. In April 2007, the TBM reached another important milestone when it broke ground north of Pender Street on Granville Street, completing the first segment of track. Click here, here and here. The 6.1 m-diameter machine bored twin 2.5 km tunnels at a rate of about 10 metres a day and was used to tunnel under False Creek and under buildings in the downtown core. Approximately 20,000 prefabricated steel-reinforced concrete tunnel lining segments have been used to construct the 5 kilometres of tunnel walls. The tunnel is 5.3 metres in internal diameter and varies in depth between 10 and 30 metres.The Canada Line system will run completely separated from traffic and mostly underground between the Waterfront Centre on Burrard Inlet near downtown Vancouver to the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond. It will have 16 stations, two bridges, and approximately 19 kilometres of tunnel. The project is on budget and ahead of schedule. Construction is 80% complete, including long sections of Cambie Street where cut-and-cover tunnels are being dug. The line is expected to be in operation on 30th November, 2009. This is an important connection, particularly as Vancouver prepares to welcome the world for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Click ca/24. Read E-News Weekly 47/2007 & 26/2007. Visit www.canadaline.ca 11/08.