Tunnel boring begins on Evergreen Line in Canada

Last week, TransLink and Canadian government officials marked the start of construction of the Evergreen Line's 1.2-mile tunnel.

The tunnel will run east of Barnet Highway in Port Moody to south of Kemsley Avenue in Coquitlam, British Columbia. The machine will drill a single tunnel in one direction, instead of two, allowing for a shorter construction schedule.

EGRT Construction is building the elevated and at-grade guideways, the bored tunnel, seven stations, power substations, train operating systems and parking facilities, as well as a vehicle-storage and light maintenance facility, government officials said in a press release.

The Evergreen Line will link Burnaby, Port Moody and Coquitlam, and be fully integrated into TransLink's system, connecting directly onto the Millennium Line at Lougheed Town Centre Station. It will carry 70,000 passengers annually and remove 40,000 cars from roads per day by 2021.

The governments of Canada and British Columbia, and TransLink are funding the $1.43 billion project (in Canadian dollars).