Toronto island airport tunnel opens after 3-year construction

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After three years of construction and months of delays, the tunnel to Toronto’s island airport opened at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Mayor John Tory and other officials attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Travellers are now able to walk from the city to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, skipping the ferry ride.

The new $82.5-million pedestrian tunnel connects the airport terminal to the Toronto mainland at Eireann Quay, at the foot of Bathurst Street.

Work began on the 260-metre underwater tunnel in March 2012. It was expected to open last summer but then was delayed two more times due to a number of issues.

The ferry will continue to run approximately every 15 minutes, Ports Toronto said, for vehicles and for those who prefer it over the tunnel. The boat trip travels 121 metres, taking just 90 seconds.

 

The tunnel, meanwhile, will take six minutes. It has six elevators on the mainland side and four moving sidewalks.

In a media advisory, Ports Toronto said the tunnel was built at no cost to taxpayers, instead using an public-private partnership agreement between Ports Toronto, Forum Equity Partners and PCL, the lead contractor.

A tunnel to the island airport was first proposed in 1935, and a tunnel was started but cancelled. Since 1938, a car ferry has shuttled passengers to and from the airport.

In 1997, Toronto City Council approved a bridge to the island airport, but the bridge was cancelled when David Miller was elected as Toronto’s mayor in 2003.

Click here to read more facts about the tunnel.

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