In summer 2020, the City of Toronto will rehabilitate a section of a 112 year-old Cross Harbour Tunnel located below Lake Ontario from Muggs Island to the John Street Pumping Station (JSPS).
This project will take about 10 months to complete. The tunnel is a large pipe that carries cold water from the Island Water Treatment Plant to the JSPS and supplies water to Enwave for deep lake water cooling.
This project is part of the Council-approved 2020 Capital Works Program to renew aging water infrastructure, improve water distribution and will bring this tunnel to a good state of repair.
The City will rehabilitate approximately 800 m of the 1.5 km Cross Harbour Tunnel (tunnel); a large pipe that carries cold water from the Island Water Treatment Plant to the city and is also used by Enwave for deep lake water cooling.
The work is the result of a 2018 Camera inspection that showed parts of the tunnel have major structural cracks or are deformed due to bed rock squeezing.
Most of the tunnel rehabilitation will be conducted via a deep shaft that will create an access point for steel pipes to be lowered and pushed inside the tunnel, and then welded together to form a new pipe inside the existing tunnel.
Construction will take place between September 2020 and June 2021, following the steps described below:
Following rehabilitation of the Tunnel, the site will be used to construct a new large shaft for the Central Waterfront Wet Weather Flow System, followed by conversion to a park.
Construction is taking place in the parking lot at the north-west corner of Queens Quay and Rees Street, and parking will remain available at 60 per cent capacity. All parking will be reinstated after construction, and the surface will be restored with a hatch/cover allowing cars to be parked on top.
Work above ground will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Friday, with work after hours and on weekends as required. No truck deliveries will take place after 7 p.m.
Pre constuction notice crossharbour tunnel July 2020
Work above ground will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, with work after hours and on weekends as required.
The Contractor will survey all properties within 30 metres of the construction area before construction starts. Participation in the survey is voluntary; however, participating is important to determine if construction caused damage. The inspection will look at the exterior of all properties to verify existing conditions. The company will deliver a separate notice requesting time to set up appointments. All inspection staff will be wearing photo identification and carrying photographic equipment during their work.
In order to complete the work in a safe manner, there will be road and sidewalk restrictions on Lake Shore Boulevard north of the Rees Street parking lot. Sidewalks will remain open on the north side of Lake Shore Boulevard between Lower Spadina and Rees Street.
Efforts have been made to manage traffic in the area for the safety of workers, road users and residents. Road users should expect a short delay on Lake Shore Blvd during deliveries in and out of the parking lot.
Parking: The Rees Street Parking Lot capacity will be reduced to 60 per cent due to the shaft construction and materials storage.
The west part of the parking lot will be fenced and hoarded for safety. Access to the Parking Lot for customers will be maintained from Queens Quay West. The contractor will access the worksite in the parking lot via Lake Shore Boulevard West.
The construction work area will be restored with sod and asphalt where required.