The 14.4m-diameter tunnel is being built for a clean energy project due for completion in 2013.
“The breakthrough of Big Becky to daylight is an historic event for Ontario,” said president and CEO of Ontario Power Generation (OPG) Tom Mitchell. “Today we witnessed the completion of one of the largest underground excavations in history. It was accomplished by Big Becky, the largest hard rock boring machine in the world. Everyone in this province can take pride in this project. It’s important we recognise the employees from OPG, Strabag, Hatch Mott MacDonald, sub contractors and the hundreds of men and women who went deep underground everyday to make this project a reality.”
ILF has been responsible for the bid design, detailed design, construction design and the preparation of the as-built drawings on behalf of Strabag. After completion of the overall project in 2013, the power plant will guarantee the energy supply for approximately 160,000 households.
The project will divert water from the Niagara River and carry it downstream to the Sir Adam Beck Generating Stations. Gravity alone will propel the water at 500m3 per second.
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