Ontario Construction News staff writer
Two iconic pieces of the boring machines for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project arrived at the at the tunnel launch site after a journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
The cutter heads, each weighing about 65 tones and measuring about 6.5 metres in diameter, had a police escort to the site at Renforth Drive and Commerce Boulevard.
The remaining parts are travelling from Europe in shipping containers, and are scheduled to arrive in January. Once all the parts are on site, the team will start the process of assembling these machines, a process that takes months.
Finally, the boring machines will be lowered into the ground to begin the big dig.
The team has been working on the launch shaft – a massive hole measuring 80 metres long, 20 metres wide and 17 metres deep – large enough to hold 10 Olympic-size swimming pools of water.
