Excavation of the main pedestrian tunnel began in June with the creation of two 6ft (1.8m) tunnels mined by TBM. Work on the seven small "crown" shafts, two of which host new City of Toronto water and sewer mains, began in December 2012. The project’s next phase is the construction of the pedestrian tunnel skeleton, with completion of this element expected at the end of the year.
"I simply cannot say enough in congratulating a committed team that worked so diligently to get this tunnel in place," said tunnelling contractor Technicore’s CEO Tony DiMillo. "Our in-house designed and built TBMs performed flawlessly, with some very innovative concrete design and placement techniques."
The pedestrian tunnel will connect the airport to the mainland where currently a ferry service transports passengers.
The project is being built through a public-private partnership model by Forum Infrastructure Partners (led by Forum Equity Partners with contractor PCL Constructors, facility manager Johnson Controls, lead designer Arup with ZAS Architects and Exp geotechnical engineers, Technicore Underground among others). The consortium is responsible for building, financing and operating the tunnel. The TPA retains ownership of the tunnel throughout the life of the P3 concession period.
When complete, the pedestrian tunnel will have four sidewalks moving at 2.3km per hour. From a bank of six elevators on the mainland side, passengers will go 100ft down to access the tunnel and travel 800ft underneath the Western Gap to escalators which take passengers to the airport’s check-in area. The complete journey will take less than six minutes.
"The pedestrian tunnel is well on its way to being complete, now that the most technically difficult element of the project is behind us," said Toronto Port Authority Board Chairman, Mark McQueen.
Construction began on the tunnel project in March 2012 and completion is expected in the second half of 2014.
