Simcoe Street Tunnel
Encyclopedia
The Simcoe Street tunnel is located between Front Street and Bremnar Blvd. in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. This $40 million tunnel is situated in a densely urban site below a pedestrian skywalk and in close proximity to Toronto Union Station and an adjacent hotel. The tunnel roof structure is designed to carry all 16 pre-existing railway tracks while the ground structure provides one lane north bound and two lanes south bound vehicular connections as well as one bicycle lane and one extra wide pedestrian sidewalk on each side of the tunnel.
The Simcoe Street tunnel was officially opened on September 22, 2009 by Councillor Adam Vaughan
.
A key component in building the tunnel was the readily available supply of precast deck segments nearby. The project required 1.6 kilometres of girders so Soncin who was contracted by Fairmont Developments to construct the extension of Simcoe Street, built a precast facility on site. A total of 153 girders were produced in three months. Fifty-one girders were post tensioned and 102 girders were normally reinforced.
Design and construction of the tunnel posed significant challenges as the Union Station (Toronto)
corridor has the highest train volume for a single terminus location in North America. It was necessary to maintain the normal operation schedule of the railway corridor during construction. In order to not cause any disruption to the operation of 16 tracks, construction was scheduled during train work blocks. Morrison Hershfield
the project managers, designers, contract administrators and site engineers, worked with the railway companies including Via Rail
, CNR
, Amtrak
and Go Transit
to ensure the services of 177 daily scheduled trains that passed over the tunnel were maintained. Some trains were temporarily rerouted to adjacent tracks.
By not affecting the existing rail service of the 177 trains per day using the corridor, a risk of loss of ridership was removed that could have been occurred in relation to potential delays. Long and short distance travelers were continuously able to get to their destinations as planned, which helped to avoid an increase in the use of personal vehicles.
A lasting environmental impact after construction is the improved access to the Lake Ontario
waterfront within the City of Toronto. The original rail corridor was a major physical barrier between the downtown and the lakefront where continuous residential, recreational and business developments are occurring. The tunnel not only reduces the length of vehicular travel time and associated carbon emissions, but as well the new ease of access promotes carbon-free travel through means of bicycling and walking.
Former Mayor of Toronto, David Miller
was quoted saying “The Simcoe Street underpass will improve downtown traffic flow and help provide important services to future development on the lands south of Union Station. But most importantly, the project will improve access to our waterfront for all Torontonians."
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. This $40 million tunnel is situated in a densely urban site below a pedestrian skywalk and in close proximity to Toronto Union Station and an adjacent hotel. The tunnel roof structure is designed to carry all 16 pre-existing railway tracks while the ground structure provides one lane north bound and two lanes south bound vehicular connections as well as one bicycle lane and one extra wide pedestrian sidewalk on each side of the tunnel.
The Simcoe Street tunnel was officially opened on September 22, 2009 by Councillor Adam Vaughan
Adam Vaughan
Adam Vaughan is a councillor representing Ward 20 Trinity—Spadina in Toronto, Canada. For about 20 years, Vaughan worked as a political journalist and activist, most recently as the Political Specialist at Citytv/CP24. Before that, for ten years, he reported for CBLT in Toronto as a municipal...
.
Construction
Construction of the tunnel began in late 2006 and was carried out in stages. Thin soil cover prohibited the use of bored tunnel and hacked tunnel methods. For each stage the substructure was first constructed within the excavated trenches to the underside of the temporary trestles.A key component in building the tunnel was the readily available supply of precast deck segments nearby. The project required 1.6 kilometres of girders so Soncin who was contracted by Fairmont Developments to construct the extension of Simcoe Street, built a precast facility on site. A total of 153 girders were produced in three months. Fifty-one girders were post tensioned and 102 girders were normally reinforced.
Design and construction of the tunnel posed significant challenges as the Union Station (Toronto)
Union Station (Toronto)
Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...
corridor has the highest train volume for a single terminus location in North America. It was necessary to maintain the normal operation schedule of the railway corridor during construction. In order to not cause any disruption to the operation of 16 tracks, construction was scheduled during train work blocks. Morrison Hershfield
Morrison Hershfield
Morrison Hershfield is an employee-owned professional services firm providing engineering and management consulting services in the areas of energy and...
the project managers, designers, contract administrators and site engineers, worked with the railway companies including Via Rail
VIA Rail
Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
, CNR
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
, Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
and Go Transit
GO Transit
GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area conurbation, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe...
to ensure the services of 177 daily scheduled trains that passed over the tunnel were maintained. Some trains were temporarily rerouted to adjacent tracks.
Environmental and Social Impacts
To help protect the environment during construction of the tunnel a Quality Management Plan was set in place. This plan ensured all waste materials were disposed of according to government regulations. Disposal techniques were also monitored for compliance.By not affecting the existing rail service of the 177 trains per day using the corridor, a risk of loss of ridership was removed that could have been occurred in relation to potential delays. Long and short distance travelers were continuously able to get to their destinations as planned, which helped to avoid an increase in the use of personal vehicles.
A lasting environmental impact after construction is the improved access to the Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
waterfront within the City of Toronto. The original rail corridor was a major physical barrier between the downtown and the lakefront where continuous residential, recreational and business developments are occurring. The tunnel not only reduces the length of vehicular travel time and associated carbon emissions, but as well the new ease of access promotes carbon-free travel through means of bicycling and walking.
Former Mayor of Toronto, David Miller
David Miller (Canadian politician)
David Raymond Miller is a Canadian politician. He was the 63rd Mayor of Toronto and the second since the 1998 amalgamation. He was elected to the position in 2003 for a three-year term and re-elected in 2006 for a four-year term...
was quoted saying “The Simcoe Street underpass will improve downtown traffic flow and help provide important services to future development on the lands south of Union Station. But most importantly, the project will improve access to our waterfront for all Torontonians."