Metrolinx tries new engineering tech for Hazel McCallion LRT construction

Metrolinx has used the Verona System to build the Hazel McCallion light-rail transit line, the Toronto transportation agency announced late last month.

The first time the Verona System has been used in Canada, the technology helped crews create a concrete passageway beneath the Lakeshore West tracks at Port Credit GO Station, Metrolinx officials said in a press release. The passageway — also known as a push box — will be the tunnel through which future light-rail trains will travel in and out of the station once the line is in service by the end of 2024.

The Verona System calls for the use of three temporary bridges below the existing tracks before crews lay the new underground tracks. The system also calls for installing permanent foundations for the street-level tracks, according to the Metrolinx website. Trains were still able to travel through the area with minimal disruptions while construction continued.

Recent work on the passageway included jacking the final 98 feet, removing four rows of micro-piles and excavating more than 176,573 cubic feet of earth. Jacking the passageway involves pushing it underneath the tracks while excavation workers clear a path for it. The temporary bridges are removed once the passageway is in place.

The Lakeshore West Line serves 33,000 riders daily.