No. H049/06
For release June 12, 2006

TUNNEL BORING BEGINS
ON CANADA LINE IN VANCOUVER

VANCOUVER – A ceremony at the future False Creek South station today marked the start of tunnel boring construction for the Canada Line from False Creek to the downtown core.

Russ Hiebert, MP (South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale), on behalf of Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities; Kevin Falcon, British Columbia Minister of Transportation; Malcolm Brodie, TransLink Chair; George Chow, the City of Vancouver Deputy Mayor; and Larry Berg, President & CEO of the Vancouver International Airport Authority, area residents and businesses helped launch the tunnel boring machine — the first of its kind in British Columbia.

"The Government of Canada is pleased to provide funding in the amount of $450 million for this project," said Mr. Hiebert. "The Canada Line will help reduce urban congestion and related pollution. Today’s event marks a significant milestone in the construction of this project – one that should be highlighted and celebrated. When completed, the Canada Line will make the movement of residents and visitors during the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics more efficient."

"The Province’s $435-million commitment is a generational investment that will reduce congestion, improve the environment and enhance the economy," said Kevin Falcon, B.C. Minister of Transportation. "Canada Line will generate hundreds of millions in new private sector investment and thousands of jobs in the Lower mainland and around the province."

"This is an important moment in the Canada Line project as another significant phase is launched. Years from now as transit passengers move safely and quickly along this corridor, people will look at the pictures of today’s event with a great deal of pride and gratitude for all of the talent, effort and vision it took from everyone involved to make this massive undertaking a reality," said TransLink Chair Malcolm Brodie.

"The TBM construction of the Canada Line represents state-of-the-art tunnel construction, the first of its kind in B.C.," said Jean-Marc Arbaud, President and CEO of InTransitBC. "InTransitBC is proud to be bringing this kind of technology to B.C."

"Today is a big day in continuing our commitment to link our rapid transportation network, which will serve thousands of commuters every day travelling between downtown Vancouver to Richmond, to the airport, and neighbouring communities along the way," said Jane Bird, President and CEO of Canada Line Rapid Transit Inc.

In Vancouver, the Canada Line will be underground from Waterfront Station to 64th Avenue. Seventy-five per cent of the tunnel will be built by cut-and-cover method. The remaining section of the tunnel will be built as twin-bored tunnels using the tunnel boring machine.

Two twin bored tunnels, each measuring 2.5 kilometres in length, will be dug to allow the Canada Line to run in both directions, for a total of five kilometres of tunnel. The tunnel boring machine will bore underground from the False Creek South Station site at 2nd Avenue and 6th Avenue under False Creek to Davie Street in downtown Vancouver, west under Davie Street, turning north under Granville Street, and north along Granville Street to Dunsmuir Street in downtown Vancouver. Travelling at a rate of 10 metres per day, the tunnel boring machine is expected to complete its first pass by April 2007. The second pass is anticipated from June 2007 to March 2008.

The Canada Line rapid transit system will run fully separated from traffic between the transportation hub at the Waterfront Centre in Vancouver, the heart of Richmond’s civic precinct, and Vancouver International Airport. With 16 stations, two bridges, approximately 19 kilometres of tunnel and elevated guideway, parking and bus facilities, and transit capacity equivalent to 10 road lanes, the Canada Line will be an important new link in the regional transportation network.

Worker and public safety is of the utmost importance and the Canada Line Project will be built safely and in compliance with all municipal, provincial and federal health and safety regulations.

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BACKGROUNDER

TUNNEL CONSTRUCTION IN VANCOUVER

In bored tunnel construction, a tunnel boring machine is lowered into a deep shaft and launched to bore a tunnel beneath the ground. At the front of the tunnel boring machine, a cutting face is used to tunnel or bore the ground, and material is sent back through the tunnel and out the entry shaft.

This construction method is typically used for deep tunnels where there are man-made or natural obstructions above the tunnel that prevent tunnel construction from the surface. In this case, the tunnel boring machine will be used to tunnel beneath False Creek and buildings in the downtown core (See Figure 1).

The tunnel boring machine will bore twin 2.5-kilometre tunnels in preparation for the Canada Line, totalling five kilometres of tunnel. Launched in June 2006, travelling at a rate of 10 metres per day, the tunnel boring machine is expected to complete its first pass by April 2007. The second pass is scheduled for June 2007 - March 2008*.
*Subject to change.

The depth of the tunnel varies along the alignment to get underneath False Creek and also to clear underneath any deep building structures. In general, the depth of the tunnel is between 10 and 30 metres, measured from the surface to the top of the tunnel.

As the tunnel boring machine advances, pre-cast concrete segments are placed to form the lining of the tunnel. These steel reinforced concrete lining segments will permanently support the tunnel. Each ring has five segments plus a keystone, 1.4 metres in arc length, making the tunnel 5.3 metres in internal diameter. The rings are the grouted with concrete. Once the tunnel is complete the train tracks are laid.

Approximately 20,000 concrete lining segments, pre-fabricated off-site in Nanaimo, B.C., are needed for the two tunnels. The concrete lining segments are built in a manufacturing plant under controlled conditions to optimize quality and durability.

During boring, the excavated material is removed using a conveyor system that dumps the material into rail cars. The excavated material is removed from the tunnel on average seven or eight times per day.

Facts on boring

• The tunnel boring machine used for Canada Line bored tunnel construction is know as an earth pressure balance type of tunnel boring machine.


• This will be the first time an earth pressure balance tunnel boring machine has been used in British Columbia.


• There are two major components to the tunnel boring machine, the cutting head and the backup.


• In total, the tunnel boring machine measures 86 metres in length, and 6.1 metres in diameter and weighs 440 tonnes (weight excludes backup).


• Electrically powered, the tunnel boring machine is guided with a sophisticated GPS tracking system that is accurate to within an inch.

Safety

Worker and public safety is of paramount importance and the Canada Line Project will be built safely and in compliance with all municipal, provincial, federal health and safety regulations.

The bored tunnel construction method is employed in transportation and utility projects around the world. Locally, the Greater Vancouver Regional District is currently constructing twin-bored tunnels on the North Shore as part of its Seymour-Capilano Filtration Project.

About the Canada Line Project

The Canada Line rapid transit system will run fully separated from traffic between the transportation hub at Waterfront Centre in Vancouver, the heart of Richmond’s civic precinct, and the Vancouver International Airport. With 16 stations, two bridges, over nine kilometres of tunnel, parking and bus facilities, and transit capacity equivalent to 10 road lanes, the Canada Line will be an important new link in the regional transportation network.

The Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink), and the Vancouver International Airport Authority are funding the Canada Line, which is also supported by the Cities of Vancouver and Richmond. The project is overseen by Canada Line Rapid Transit Inc. (CLCO), a subsidiary of TransLink. The Canada Line is being designed, built, operated, maintained and partially financed by InTransitBC.

June 2006