We're quickly approaching a significant Expansion Project milestone – the start of tunnel boring for the Burnaby Mountain Tunnel.
Let's explore this exciting component of the Expansion Project by the numbers.
We are constructing a 2.6-kilometre tunnel that will connect Burnaby Terminal to Westridge Marine Terminal.
The tunnel will be buried up to 130 metres below the surface and requires no cleared right-of-way or surface disruption along its route.
To prepare for the tunnel boring machine, crews constructed two retaining walls, one at each terminal.
Tunnel boring will begin at Westridge Marine Terminal where the retaining wall was built using 100 concrete piles.
This wall is approximately 70 metres long and 20 metres tall.
A similar wall has been built at Burnaby Terminal and is 13 metres long and 17 metres tall.
The tunnel boring machine is 122 metres in length when fully assembled – about the same length as a soccer field.
The machine has a bore diameter of 4.43 metres.
The tunnel boring machine segments were transported to site in four separate hauls.
Once tunnel boring begins, the work can occur 24 hours a day, seven days a week and it will take approximately 200 days to complete.
The machine can move about 15 metres per day.
In total, 40,000 cubic metres of soil will be excavated during the tunnelling, which could fill up 16 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
When the tunnel bore is complete, three 30-inch delivery pipelines will be installed in the tunnel.
To learn more about Burnaby Mountain Tunnel construction, watch our animation video here.