Eglinton Crosstown West Extension
- Projects & Programs
- Eglinton Crosstown West Extension
- What We're Building
- Tunnel launch shaft
Tunnel launch shaft
The launch shaft is where Rexy and Renny, the two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that dug out the western underground segment of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, began their journey. The site is located in Mississauga, near Renforth Drive and Commerce Boulevard.
Work began on the launch shaft in 2021, with the first pieces of the TBMs arriving at the site later that year.
Tunneling from Renforth Drive to Scarlett Road began in the spring of 2022 and was completed in the summer of 2024.
Cutterhead for one of the tunnel boring machines arriving at the launch shaft in late 2021.
Tunneling began in April 2022, with Renny being the first TBM to start digging, followed by Rexy in July 2022.
The two TBMs excavated 6.3 kilometres of parallel tunnels before they were disassembled and removed from the extraction shaft just west of Scarlett Road.
The extraction shaft is being converted into a tunnel portal, which is where the route of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will transition from underground to a 1.5-kilometre elevated segment.
Renny, the first TBM to start tunnelling.
A birds-eye view of the tunnel launch site.
