Yonge North subway extension awards contract for advance tunneling project

The Yonge North Subway extension project advanced as Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx award North End Connectors a fixed-price contract of C$1.4 billion (US$1.02 billion) to build twin 6.3-kilometer (3.9 mile) tunnels. These tunnels will stretch from Finch Station of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Line 1 to south of Langstaff Road in Markham, where the extension will continue above ground.

The North End Connectors team includes:

• Applicant Leads: Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc., Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas Canada Ltd., Ghella Canada Ltd.
• Construction: Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc., Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas Canada Ltd., Ghella Canada Ltd.
• Design: EXP Services Inc., TYPSA Inc.
• Financial Advisor: National Bank Financial, Aecon Concessions, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas Canada Ltd, Ghella Investments & Partnerships SpA.

The tunnelling project is being delivered as a design-build-finance contract, using IO’s public-private-partnership (P3) model.

Early work for the project is well underway and major construction will begin once design work is complete.

The scope of work for the project includes:

• Approximately 6.3 kilometers (3.9 miles) of tunneling for the approximately eight-kilometer (4.9 mile) extension.
• Tunneled route: North along Yonge Street from Finch Station, curving east along Bay Thorn Drive to south of Langstaff Road.
• Design and construction of launch and extraction shafts, twin tunnels, headwalls for emergency exit buildings and stations, and support of excavation for emergency exit buildings.
• Procurement and installation of tunnel boring machines and precast concrete tunnel liners.