Eglinton Crosstown West tunnel contract closes at $729M
The cost to build the tunnels for the Eglinton Crosstown West subway extension will be nearly $730 million.
West End Connectors, the consortium selected to build the tunnels, and which is led by Aecon, announced on May 20 that the project reached financial close. The final price tag: $729.2 million.
The advance tunnel project is the first phase of work for the 9.2-kilometre Eglington Crosstown LRT extension. The line will run mostly underground, westward from the future Mount Dennis station to Renforth Drive. Once complete, the line will connect to different transit services, including the GO Kitchener Line and UP Express train service at Mount Dennis, TTC bus services at transit stops in Toronto, and GO and MiWay bus services via the Mississauga Transitway.
The scope of work for the tunneling portion of the project includes the design and construction of launch and extraction shafts, tunnels and headwalls, the installation of precast concrete tunnel liners, as well as other ancillary work.
"This critical extension to Toronto's transit system will improve mobility for the community, decrease traffic congestion and reduce emissions by providing a new, more sustainable transportation option," said Aecon president and CEO Jean-Louis Servranckx. "We look forward to leveraging our experience executing the Eglinton Crosstown LRT project, as well as our preeminent heavy civil and urban transportation systems capabilities to deliver this important project with Infrastructure Ontario, Metrolinx and our partners."
Starting with the approximately six-kilometre tunnelling phase of work allows a significant portion of the extension to move forward on an accelerated timeline. The province will issue a separate contract for the balance of the work, which includes building the stations, fitting-out the tunnel and installing and commissioning the systems to put the LRT in service.
In addition to Aecon, West End Connectors also includes infrastructure builder Dragados Canada Inc. and Italian tunneling company Ghella.
Construction is expected to start later this year, and conclude in the second quarter of 2025.