2026 Tunnel Achievement Award Presented at Breakthroughs in Tunnel Short Course
The 2026 Tunnel Achievement Award, presented by TBM: Tunnel Business Magazine and Breakthroughs in Tunneling Short Course, was bestowed on Sept. 22 during the course’s Welcome Reception in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Established in 2012, the Tunnel Achievement Award recognizes successfully completed projects that demonstrate innovation and teamwork and provide benefits to the community. This year’s winning project is the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension for Metrolinx in the Toronto area.
The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE) will extend Toronto’s Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown LRT 9.2 km west from Mount Dennis Station to Renforth Drive, bringing rapid transit into Etobicoke and Mississauga and eliminating up to 6.5 million car trips annually.
The primary underground work consists of twin 6.3-km bored tunnels extending from Renforth Drive in Mississauga to just west of Scarlett Road in Etobicoke. A separate 500-m twin tunnel, constructed using the sequential excavation method (SEM), connects the elevated section with Mount Dennis Station.
The main tunnels have an internal diameter of 5.75 m and an excavated diameter of approximately 6.55 m. Tunnel depths range from 15 to 30 m, traversing bedrock and some mixed-ground conditions. Two Herrenknecht earth pressure balance (EPB) TBMs excavated the twin drives, holing through in 2024 after about two years of mining. The twin 500-m SEM tunnels broke through in August 2026.
As Metrolinx continues its broader tunneling program across the Greater Toronto Area, the ECWE stands as a case study in completing complex urban tunnel drives on time and on budget — even amid a global pandemic and mixed-ground challenges.
Eglinton Crosstown West Extension Tunnel Project Team
- Owner: Metrolinx
- Procurement Partner: Infrastructure Ontario
- Technical Advisor: Arup TA team
- Delivery Partner: AECOM
- Advance Tunnel Contract 1 – Applicant Lead: Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc., Dragados Canada Inc., Ghella Canada Ltd.; Construction Team: Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc., Dragados Canada Inc., Ghella Canada Ltd.; Design Team: TYPSA Inc., EXP Services Inc., Dr. G. Sauer & Partners Corporation, Pedelta Canada Inc.
- Advance Tunnel Contract 2 – Developer: STRABAG Inc.; Design: WSP Canada Inc. and Dr. G. Sauer & Partners Corporation; Construction: STRABAG Inc.
