ONTARIO - Fans of large tunnel boring machines will be pleased to know that Big Becky has bored a 10.2-km tunnel below the city of Niagara Falls. Breakthrough occurred on Friday, May 13, 2011. With a cutter head of 14.4 metres, this is one of the largest such machines in the world.
The tunnel is a key component of Ontario Power Generation's $1.6-billion project to boost the capacity of its Sir Adam Beck station by about 1.6 billion kWh. The 10-year project is to be complete in 2013.
The new tunnel follows two 60-year-old diversion tunnels about 90 to 140 metres below the surface. It runs from an intake near the International Niagara Control Works (upriver from the famed falls) to the outlet at the generating station.
OPG is donating the cutter head from the machine to the community as an artefact for future generations.
Detailed information can be read at www.OPG.com.
April 22, 2024
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