By lyndamyer
In order to construct the Annacis Water Supply Tunnel/ Fraser River Crossing project in British Columbia, Canada, Metro Vancouver granted a contract with US$225m budget to the Traylor-Aecon General Partnership.
While the shareholders of this consortium are Aecon (40%) and Traylor Brothers (60%), its work will comprise of the building of two deep vertical shafts, one on each side of the Fraser River, linked by a 2,350m tunnel among New Westminster and Surrey, as well as the installation of a water main, valve chambers and surface piping.
The intended Annacis Water Supply Tunnel, which stretches between the City of New Westminster and the City of Surrey and to 50m beneath the river, is due to be dug using a tunnel boring machine that has started up from a vertical entry shaft on the Surrey side and advanced north below the river to the exit shaft on the New Westminster side. Following the completion of the excavation, the next step will be installing a steel water pipe in the tunnel and shafts, and be connected to underground valve chambers at each shaft site.
The advantages of this project are going to be resistance to a major earthquake, just the same as the other four new water supply tunnel crossings in the region, as well as assisting ensure the delivery of clean, safe drinking water in a growing region.
Determined date for beginning the construction process of this project is the first quarter of 2022, while the scheduled completion time is summer 2027.
