York University Sheppard West Downsview (currently Downsview) Park Vaughan Metropolitan Highway 407 Finch West Centre Pioneer Village Summer 2013 spadina.ttc.ca Photo above: (left to right) – Andy Byford, CEO, TTC; Honourable Glen Murray, Ontario Minister of Transportation and Minister of Infrastructure; Karen Stintz, Toronto Transit Commission Chair; His Worship Maurizio Bevilacqua, Mayor of the City of Vaughan; Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario; Honourable Lisa Raitt, former Minister of Labour and Member of Parliament for Halton; His Worship Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto; Sameh Gahley, Chief Capital Officer, Engineering, Construction and Expansion Group, TTC The next stage of tunnel unnel boring machines T(TBMs) move on average 15 metres a construction is underway! day. “Holey,” “Moley,” “Yorkie” and “Torkie” are On a chilly day in March, offi cials gathered Vaughan and Karen Stintz, Toronto Transit the offi cial names of the at the future Highway 407 Station site to Commission Chair commemorated this four TBMs that are being launch the next stage of tunnel construc- construction milestone. used to build the tunnels tion for the Toronto-York Spadina Subway for the TYSSE project. The subway extension will offer transporta- Extension (TYSSE). tion options for hundreds of thousands of Dressed in their protective safety gear, daily commuters and provides an important The TYSSE project is an 8.6-kilometre the Honourable Lisa Raitt, former Minister transit connection into York Region and extension of the Toronto Transit of Labour and Member of Parliament for the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. When Commission’s (TTC) Yonge-University- Halton; the Honourable Kathleen Wynne, completed in fall 2016, this subway line will Spadina subway line from its present Premier of Ontario; the Honourable Glen help manage traffi c congestion and ease terminus at Downview Station to the Murray, Ontario Minister of Transportation commute times for all travellers and help Vaughan Metropolitan Centre at Highway and Minister of Infrastructure; His Worship create a seamless transit network across 7 west of Jane Street. It will have six new subway stations, including two at Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto; His Worship the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. York University and three new commuter Maurizio Bevilacqua, Mayor of the City of parking lots. in this issue THE OFFICIAL GUIDE TO STATION NAMES Tunnelling Update 2 DOWNSVIEW PARK YORK UNIVERSITY TYSSE’s Safety Offi cers (aka Sheppard West) SHEPPARD WEST 2 (currently Downsview) Moving Black Creek 3 HIGHWAY 407 VAUGHAN FINCH WEST Project Information Centres 4 METROPOLITAN PIONEER VILLAGE CENTRE (aka Steeles West) 1 To date, almost % 85 of tunnelling has been completed! “Yorkie” and “Torkie” launch the next stage of tunnelling from the Tunnelling Update Highway 407 Station and have now reached Steeles Avenue West. Southern Tunnels Completed. An and “Moley” completed 2.8 kilometres of machines broke through at Pioneer Village important milestone was achieved for the twin tunnels and placed a total of 1,826 Station, located on Steeles Avenue West TYSSE project on March 5, 2013, when rings in each tunnel. and North West Gate, on June 13 and 14, 2013, finishing a little more than one kilo- tunnel boring machine “Moley” broke “Yorkie” and “Torkie” Making through the headwall at the extraction metre of twin tunnels. The next and final Progress. “Yorkie” and “Torkie” are shaft located on Allen Road, just north of drives will start from Highway 407 Station boring the northern tunnels that will Downsview Station. This milestone marks where “Yorkie” and “Torkie” will make the connect the Finch West Station, Pioneer the completion of the southern tunnels final trek northbound to Vaughan Metro- Village Station, Highway 407 Station and linking Finch West Station to Downsview politan Centre (VMC) Station. Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station. Both Station. Tunnel boring machines “Holey” Carolyn previously worked at Toronto’s Meet TYSSE’s safety officers Lester B. Pearson International Airport on “Work Safe – Home Safe” is a major initiative adopted by the TTC the Terminal Project. In describing her work in 2008 to reduce workplace injuries. TTC’s number one priority is at the airport, Carolyn stresses the impor- the safety of employees and customers—a principle reflected in the tance of great communication. construction of the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE). “As the constructor’s safety manager, working adjacent to the largest airport in “We all have family that care about us the northern tunnels, as well as the VMC Canada involved addressing many chal- and you owe it to yourself and to them to Station. lenges without disrupting the public and air come to work in a fit state and return home traffic,” describes Carolyn. Co-ordination Carolyn Farmer has been working at in the same fit state, so you continue to with all the major projects that were hap- Downsview Park Station, which includes enjoy life,” explains Richard Ahern, one pening at the same time was also a major the southern subway tunnels. She also of three safety officers working on the consideration. At one time, there were as works at the Pioneer Village Station site, subway project. Richard co-ordinates the many as 40 subcontractors on site, with the first subway station that will reside in safety program, policies, and procedures more than 600 workers working in close both Toronto and Vaughan, with entrances for Highway 407 Station, which includes proximity to each other. on both sides of Steeles Avenue West. 2 “Co-ordination among contractors also to shoulder’ and many of the cranes are makes the TYSSE project distinctive,” also situated side by side. Heavy con- Carolyn adds. “As much as all of the sites struction activities require a robust safety are individual in nature, they all have to system so that the safety of the workers fit and work together to complete the and the public are protected.” project as a whole. This takes a tremen- Carlos, Carolyn and Richard are usually dous amount of communication and the first people to greet visitors at the synchronization.” TYSSE construction sites as they arrange Carlos Villegas joined the safety team all safety orientations. Before entering a earlier this year and is overseeing the construction site, everyone must wear Finch West and York University Station personal protective equipment including a sites. Carlos also promotes communication hard hat, protective eyewear, footwear and and co-ordination as key safety tools in a a safety vest. project of this scope. Richard advises, “When on a construc- “Careful management is required to solve tion site, accept safety as your personal the potential issues to ensure the job is responsibility. Speak up – don’t expect done safely and in compliance with the someone else to.” law,” says Carlos. “Travelling along the Project Safety Officers are ready to assist subway route you see more than two doz- as Carlos stresses, “Don’t hesitate to ask en tower and mobile cranes that support – we are always ready to help.” the extensive excavation work. This project has different contractors working ‘shoulder Richard Ahern, Carolyn Farmer and Carlos Villegas Moving Black Creek It’s not every day that the TTC moves a creek! However, a series of technical challenges on the project resulted in the need to do just that. New and improved Black Creek During the detail design stage of the the Humber River near Scarlett Road and project in 2008, Hydro One required the Dundas Street, in Toronto. The creek, a subway tunnels between Steeles Avenue warm water stream, provides a home for a West and Highway 407 to be adjusted population of warm water fish. to avoid passing directly under a hydro The creek enters the Highway 407 Station tower carrying a 500 kV transmission line. site through a culvert under Jane Street, This shift in the tunnels meant the station about 100 metres south of Highway 407. structure had to move east into the existing On the site, the creek flows through a nar- Black Creek channel. After careful evalua- row valley about seven metres deep. The tion, the project team concluded that Black valley then widens and becomes shallower Creek needed to be moved further east, as the creek flows southward and off the away from the proposed new station box. site. The east side of the valley is the Jane With construction of the station scheduled Street embankment. To the west were agri- to start in the spring of 2011, the creek cultural fields that were used most recently needed to be moved quickly. for growing market produce. Black Creek is best known as the name- TYSSE worked with the Toronto Region sake for the Black Creek Pioneer Village Conservation Authority (TRCA) and and Black Creek Drive. The creek begins Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to in the Vellore neighbourhood in the City of develop a design for the creek’s re-routing Vaughan at the retention basin outflow just that would meet aquatic habitat improve- north west of the intersection of Weston ment objectives. The design work, carried Road and Rutherford Road, and flows into out by AECOM Canada Limited and Parrish 3 Geomorphic Limited, resulted in a design 6, 2010 with the temperatures well below of 10 meanders (bends), 13 riffl es (shallow freezing, the old channel was dammed, the water) and 12 pools. The meanders were water was routed through the new channel, stabilized with vegetation, both live stakes and more than 650 fi sh were captured and and plantings. The design concept re- released downstream. aligned the creek so that it would continue During the summer and fall of 2011, ad- to wind within the fl oodplain to closely ditional work on the stream banks was mimic the natural stream and habitat. carried out to repair some eroded areas.