Tunnel boring machines for subway projects have arrived in Oshawa, according to Metrolinx.
After a long voyage from Germany, tunnel boring machines that will be used on the Scarborough Subway Extension and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension have arrived on Canadian soil.
All three tunnel boring machines (TBMs) were manufactured in a small town in Germany called Schwanau before beginning their trek to North America.
Jumbo Vision left Dutch shores on November 26, travelled across the Atlantic Ocean, into the St. Lawrence Seaway, and eventually down to Lake Ontario, before docking at the port of Oshawa.
Meanwhile, the two TBMs that will dig the 6.5-kilometre tunnels between Renforth Drive and Scarlett Road for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension left Antwerp on Nov. 20, before taking a similar path across the Atlantic Ocean, down the St. Lawrence Seaway, before arriving at the port of Hamilton.
“Projects like the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and the Scarborough Subway Extension will not only benefit the communities where they are being built, but the region as a whole,” said Phil Verster, Metrolinx President and CEO.
Crews at the port have started unloading the shipping containers and other parts, like the cutterheads. This is the part found at the front of the machine that has different types of tools to cut through the ground as it spins.
The pieces for the Scarborough Subway Extension will be transported to the launch shaft site in at Sheppard Avenue and McCowan Road in Scarborough later this month and into the new year, while the cutterheads for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension are expected to make their way to the tunnel launch site at Renforth Drive as early as next week.
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