chicot60
05-13-2011, 08:13 PM
World's largest tunnel boring machine finishes drilling under Niagara Falls
(The Canadian Press) – 21 minutes ago
http://www.journalofcommerce.com/images/archivesid/43928/160.jpg
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. — The world's largest rock tunnel boring machine has made a breakthrough deep below Niagara Falls, Ont.
The massive, 4,000-tonne machine — called Big Becky — dug a 10.2-kilometre tunnel under the city as part of a hydroelectic infrastructure project that will be completed in 2013.
It has been churning along about 90 to 140 metres below the city since 2006.
The tunnel — about one and a half times as large as the Chunnel between England and France — will be used to redirect water from the Niagara River to hydro generating stations, creating enough electricity to power 160,000 homes.
But critics have complained the project is four years late and half a billion dollars over budget.
Construction crews hit harder than expected rock early on, which slowed things down and added to cost overruns.
Premier Dalton McGuinty, who was on hand for the breakthrough, says the $1.6-billion project will generate clean electricity for more than a century.
However, the Progressive Conservatives warn that it will add about $600 million more to already rising electricity bills for consumers.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version gave an incorrect weight for Big Becky.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5ihzDcq2ing-vpe34fGeeU6WQYQTg?docId=6841557
(The Canadian Press) – 21 minutes ago
http://www.journalofcommerce.com/images/archivesid/43928/160.jpg
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. — The world's largest rock tunnel boring machine has made a breakthrough deep below Niagara Falls, Ont.
The massive, 4,000-tonne machine — called Big Becky — dug a 10.2-kilometre tunnel under the city as part of a hydroelectic infrastructure project that will be completed in 2013.
It has been churning along about 90 to 140 metres below the city since 2006.
The tunnel — about one and a half times as large as the Chunnel between England and France — will be used to redirect water from the Niagara River to hydro generating stations, creating enough electricity to power 160,000 homes.
But critics have complained the project is four years late and half a billion dollars over budget.
Construction crews hit harder than expected rock early on, which slowed things down and added to cost overruns.
Premier Dalton McGuinty, who was on hand for the breakthrough, says the $1.6-billion project will generate clean electricity for more than a century.
However, the Progressive Conservatives warn that it will add about $600 million more to already rising electricity bills for consumers.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version gave an incorrect weight for Big Becky.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5ihzDcq2ing-vpe34fGeeU6WQYQTg?docId=6841557