WATCH: Boring machines break through the tunnel linking Toronto to Billy Bishop Airport. Laura Zilke reports.
TORONTO – The construction of the new Toronto Billy Bishop Airport underground pedestrian tunnel reached a milestone when an excavator broke through on the island side Friday morning.
The Toronto Port Authority marked the occasion with a media event at 11 a.m.
The project, which began in March 2012, will allow travellers to walk in an underwater tunnel that connects the mainland to the island airport.
A ferry boat currently transports people across the river of water.
When complete, the tunnel will have four moving sidewalks travelling at 2.3 kilometres per hour.
Passengers will use one of six elevators to go down 100 feet to access the tunnel and travel 800 feet underneath to the airport’s check-in area. The journey is estimated to take less than six minutes.
The project is being funded by the private sector and will partially be paid for by departing passengers via the existing Airport Improvement Fee.
The tunnel is scheduled to open in the second half of 2014.
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