TORONTO RUNWAY

Delcan has reported on its project management role in the construction of a four lane vehicle access to the new infield development at Pearson International Airport in Toronto which passes beneath runway 15L-33R and the most heavily used taxiways at the site. The design phase of the project began in late 1997 and the construction of the approaches to the eastern end of the tunnel from the airport apron road was tendered for $7 million and completed in November, 1998. Meantime, the final design of the main tunnel and western approach was completed in August, 1998.

This is a four lane divided vehicle corridor, 26 m wide, 7.4m high and just over half a kilometer long. Armbro Construction won the $38 million contract for the tunnel and western approach works which are scheduled for completion in May, 2000. The team of Morrison Herschfield, Acres and Delcan, within the project management consortium which includes Sverdrup Civil and Maunder Britnell, is providing the resident engineering and construction administration services to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority as client.

The tunnel, which one of only a handful of similar facilities in North America, will allow unimpeded access to the new infield development, which in turn will permit redevelopment of the existing Terminals 1 and 2 into a single new terminal.

World Tunnelling, August 1999

SIR ADAM BECK PROJECT ON HOLD

The Sir Adam Beck project in Ontario has not been canceled, but is "on hold" until reorganization of the electricity industry in that province is completed. According to Ontario Power Generation management, reorganization caused by the change from monopoly to open competitive market is expected to take at least six months, and that the project will commence within two years. The likelihood of project cancellation is "extremely low", and re-tendering of the contract is not planned.

The project, whose contract was awarded in 1998 to the Obayashi/Kenaidan JV, consists of a 10 km long, 14 m diameter tunnel which will divert part of the Niagara River to the existing Sir Adam Beck power station. The tunnel passes through limestone and shale, and requires a double-gripper machine that is able to push off of the precast concrete segmental lining. The machine will start at the power station site and bore uphill, breaking through at the intake structure. The intake will be built within a cofferdam located in the middle of the river.

Tunnels and Tunnelling International, November 1999

ASTM TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has recently announced the publication of "ASTM Standards Related to Trenchless Technology".

This document compiles 78 standards pertaining to pipe materials and rehabilitation methods used in trenchless construction, including the latest standards on concrete pipe, vitrified clay pipe, fiberglass pipe, steel pipe, ductile iron pipe, glass reinforced concrete pipe, PVC pipe and polyethylene pipe. For more information, visit ASTM's Web site at www.astm.org.