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Two 1,000-tonne boring machines set to start tunnelling Vancouver's Broadway Subway

It'll take about a yea for the tunnel-boring machines, nicknamed Elsie and Phyllis, to carve out the Broadway Subway's inbound and outbound tunnels.

View of the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr station site ahead of the launch of Elsie, the first of two tunnel boring machines on the right. Phyllis, the second tunnel boring machine, is being assembled on the left.
View of the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr station site ahead of the launch of Elsie, the first of two tunnel boring machines on the right. Phyllis, the second tunnel boring machine, is being assembled on the left.

Vancouver’s Broadway Subway project has hit a milestone as two giant tunnel-boring machines are set to start excavating the future tunnels for the 5.7-kilometre SkyTrain extension. 

The two machines, dubbed Elsie and Phyllis after two influential British Columbian women, measure six metres in diameter and weigh 1,000 tonnes each.

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They will be launched from the Greater Northern Way-Emily Carr Station and tunnel five kilometres west to Cypress Street, near the future Arbutus Station, the project’s terminus station, said B.C.’s transportation ministry on Friday.

Elsie — named after Elizabeth (Elsie) MacGill, the first female aeronautical engineer and professional aircraft designer in the world — is set to start tunnelling. Phyllis — named after nurse, well-known mountaineer and B.C. Girl Guides founder Phyllis Munday — will follow suit in the winter.

In preparation for the machines, tunnel liner rings have been transported to the construction site, where crews have assembled a conveyor system to transport dirt and other excavated material out of the tunnel. Work on the stations along the line, which includes relocating utilities and building traffic decks, continues.

The conveyer belt rises out of the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr station site towards the muck pit on the other side, where excavated material will be removed.
The conveyer belt rises out of the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr station site towards the muck pit on the other side, where excavated material will be removed. Photo by Ministry of Transportation

The machines are expected to take about a year to excavate the subway line’s inbound and outbound tunnels, said the ministry.

Once that’s completed in late 2024, crews will finish building the underground stations and install the train tracks and supporting systems. Final steps include testing and commissioning the new line before it can open to the public.

The $2.83 billion Broadway Subway extends the Millennium Line from VCC-Clark Station to Broadway and Arbutus. It is expected to be completed in 2025 and transport about 150,000 people daily.

A close look at the cutterhead of the first tunnel boring machine prior to launch from the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station.
A close look at the cutterhead of the first tunnel boring machine prior to launch from the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station. Photo by Ministry of Transportation
The steel gantry structure behind the tunnel boring machine. Once underground, the large wheels will rest on the completed tunnel section.
The steel gantry structure behind the tunnel boring machine. Once underground, the large wheels will rest on the completed tunnel section. Photo by Ministry of Transportation

chchan@postmedia.com

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