The pedestrian tunnel linking Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport to the mainland reached a major milestone on Friday morning when an excavator broke through on the island side after boring more than 182 metres under water.
When completed, the tunnel will allow travellers to travel back and forth between the island airport and the mainland without a ferry.
“The ferry has been terrific, but as we’ve gotten busier the ferry has started to become a bit of a choke point. It’s gotten congested,” Toronto Port Authority CEO Geoffrey Wilson told CTV Toronto on Friday. “This will allow passengers to come and go at their own steam, on their own clock.”
The $82.5 million privately-funded tunnel will include moving sidewalks in both directions and an elevator on the mainland side.
The tunnel is scheduled to open in the second half of 2014.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Ashley Rowe
