VIDEO: 52,000 concrete pieces come together to build LRT tunnels in Mississauga
Published October 21, 2024 at 12:47 pm
More than 52,000 pre-cast concrete wall segments were painstakingly put in place over two years to complete a pair of tunnels comprising a major section of a new light-rail transit line planned for east Mississauga and Toronto.
Project leaders at Metrolinx, the provincial agency in charge of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, said in a recent video posted to social media (see below) the wall segments were placed, one at a time, inside both of the six-plus-kilometre tunnels.
A technician used a robotic arm to carefully move each piece into exact position, officials added, noting the tens of thousands of wall segments were created at a plant in Whitby before being transported via large trucks to the tunnel entrance at Renforth Drive in east Mississauga.
Looking back on a milestone moment!
It took more than 52,000 pre-cast concrete wall segments to build the twin tunnels for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.
Come behind the scenes with us, from the factory to the finish line, to see how the final piece was locked into… pic.twitter.com/qv0W6S3sof
— Metrolinx (@Metrolinx) October 16, 2024
Metrolinx officials said earlier this month they’re one step closer to deciding who will build the tracks and stations for the ECWE, a 9.2-kilometre above ground/underground LRT route that will take the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto farther west and “bring much-needed rapid transit to Etobicoke and Mississauga.”
The search for a construction team to design and build the seven new stations as part of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension has been narrowed down to three bidders, Metrolinx officials said in a recent project update. A final decision will be made in the next year or so, they added.
In May, the second of two massive tunnel-boring machines tasked since 2022 to dig out the underground portion of the ECWE completed its job to mark a milestone in the major public transit project.
Having set out on the journey from its launch shaft in Mississauga to begin the daily digging job in April 2022, the TBM dubbed Renny emerged from the fully-dug tunnel on May 22 in west Toronto to move the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension LRT initiative one step closer to completion.
Renny’s subterranean partner, Rexy — the two were named as a nod to areas in Mississauga and Toronto — completed its earth-moving trip on April 26. Though it was launched into action some three months after Renny in late July/early August of 2022, Rexy was first to complete the task.
When completed in roughly seven years, the ECWE will link east Mississauga and likely Pearson Airport as well with parts of west Toronto. With project completion anticipated by 2030-31, the new route will bring the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line from Scarborough in east Toronto west to Renforth Drive in east Mississauga.
A proposal to extend the ECWE an additional 4.7 kilometres from Renforth Drive to Pearson Airport is also being strongly considered.
