Strabag and West End Connectors named as FNPs for Scarborough and Eglinton Crosstown West tunnels

Strabag and West End Connectors have been named by Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx as the First Negotiations Proponents (FNPs) to the Scarborough Subway Extension and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension projects.

IO and Metrolinx issued a Request for Qualifications for the two tunneling projects in March 2020, which produced a shortlist of six teams – three for each project – for which a Request for Proposals was issued. IO and Metrolinx explain identifying the two teams as FNPs is the first step in the negotiations process where details of each RFP submission will be finalized to ensure the proposals provide the best value for the province. Criteria to determine FNPs included design and construction methodology, approach to managing the project and the collaborative behaviors of key individuals of the proponent teams.

Following conclusion of the negotiations process, IO and Metrolinx expect contracts for each project to reach Financial Close in the spring.

Each team is permitted to undertake certain design and early works for the projects with boring for each project’s tunnels expected to begin in 2022.

The Scarborough Subway Extension

The Scarborough Subway Extension is a 7.8-km (approximately five-mile) extension of the Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) Bloor-Danforth Line 2.

The scope of work for the contract includes tunneling work for the extension between Kennedy Station and McCowan Road/Sheppard Avenue, supply of the tunnel boring machine (TBM) and install of the segmental precast concrete tunnel liners; design and construction of launch and extraction shafts, tunnels, as well as headwalls for emergency exit buildings and stations and activities necessary to build the tunnel (e.g. utility relocations, supports for shaft and headwalls, temporary power supply, lighting, ventilation and drainage).

Strabag AG is the applicant lead, construction manager and financial advisor on the team, which also includes Arup Canada Inc., Brian Isherwood & Associates Ltd. for design.

The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension

The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will add 9.2 km (5.7 miles) to TTC’s future Line 5 and connect Mount Dennis Station to Renforth Drive.

The scope of work includes supply of the TBM and installation of the segmental precast concrete tunnel liners for the extensions six-kilometer tunnel (3.7-mile); design and construction of launch and extraction shafts, tunnels, as well as headwalls for emergency exit buildings and stations and activities necessary to build the tunnel (e.g. utility relocations, supports for shaft and headwalls, temporary power supply, lighting, ventilation and drainage).

The West End Connectors team includes Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc., Dragados Canada Inc., and Ghella Canada Ltd., as applicant leads and construction managers, as well as TYPSAInc., EXP Services Inc., Dr. G. Sauer & Partners Corporation and Pedelta Canada Inc. as the design team. ACS Infrastructure Canada, Aecon Concessions, Scotiabank Capital, Ghella Investments & Partnerships will serve as financial advisors on the team.

“It’s an exciting time for the project and the project team as we move closer to breaking ground on the tunnels,” Joshua Engel-Yan, program sponsor for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension said in a Metrolinx blog. “Once it’s built, the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will not only provide the local community with access to rapid transit, but it will also close a key transit gap for the region, allowing people to travel easily from the east end of Toronto into Mississauga."

IO and Metrolinx plan to issue separate contracts for the balance of the two subway projects including the construction of stations, fitting out of the tunnels and installing and commissioning the systems to put trains into service.