Beck tunnel boring machine
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The Beck tunnel boring machine (alternately Big Becky) was the largest tunnel boring machine in the world, when it was operated by Ontario Hydro, from 2006 to 2011.[1] Hydro used it to bore a deep replacement tunnel to supply water from the upper Niagara River 10.2 km (6.34 mi) to the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Plant. The tunnel it bored was 14.4 m (47.24 ft) in diameter.
The tunnel was delayed when Beck encountered a bed of loose material, unsuitable for boring, that required a detour.[2]
According to Ontario Power Generation the TBM itself weighed 2000 tons.[3] Western Mechanical however, the firm that removed Beck, when its task was complete, described it weighing 7000 tons.[4]
References
- ↑ Alex Hutchinson. New energy in Niagara: How a giant hole will help Ontario’s shift away from fossil fuels, Canadian Geographic, April, 2012. Retrieved on 2016-01-31. “The Ontario government finally gave the go-ahead in 2004; the billion-dollar design-build contract was awarded to Strabag in 2005; Big Becky was built from scratch in 12 months, and began tunnelling in September 2006. And then the trouble started.”
- ↑ John Spears. Massive boring machine ‘Big Becky’ emerges from under Niagara Falls, Toronto Star, 2011-05-13. Retrieved on 2016-01-31.
- ↑ Niagara Tunnel Project: Technical facts, Ontario Power Generation, 2012-11-21. Retrieved on 2016-01-31.
- ↑ Project: Niagara Tunnel Boring Machine Removal (Big Becky), Western Mechanical. Retrieved on 2016-01-31.