Metro Vancouver’s Second Narrows Water Supply Tunnel has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the Tunnelling Association of Canada’s Canadian Project of the Year, under $300 Million.
The Second Narrows Water Supply Tunnel is being constructed 30 metres below the bottom of the Burrard Inlet, east of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, between Burnaby and the District of North Vancouver. The tunnel will replace three existing water mains built between the 1940s and the 1970s that are vulnerable to damage during an earthquake and are nearing the end of their service lives.
“I’m so proud that this major drinking-water infrastructure project, which will help us keep delivering water even after earthquakes, is being celebrated,” said Mike Hurley, chair of Metro Vancouver’s board of directors. “Metro Vancouver is working on hundreds of projects at any given time. The Second Narrows Water Supply Tunnel Project is an excellent example of the kind of award-winning, high-quality, on-budget work that our organization delivers.”
The Tunnelling Association of Canada’s Canadian Project of the Year Award is presented to a team that has significantly contributed to a project in Canada that has demonstrated the highest level of engineering skill and shown insight and understanding of underground construction. Other members of the award-winning project team include Delve Underground, Traylor-Aecon General Partnership, AECOM, WSP/Golder, Mott MacDonald, Malcolm Drilling, and Herrenknecht AG.
“The Second Narrows Water Supply Tunnel is one of the largest tunnels ever built by Metro Vancouver,” said Malcolm Brodie, chair of Metro Vancouver’s Water Committee. “These kinds of water-supply projects are extremely complex, yet so important to our health and well-being. It’s an honour to see this one recognized for its exceptional quality.”
Completed construction works include: two vertical shafts (one on each side of the inlet); a 6.3-metre-diameter, 1.1-kilometre-long tunnel; and three steel water mains. Valve chambers, which will connect the new mains to the existing drinking water system, are nearing completion.
Construction began in 2019 and is expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2024. The three new water mains will be tied into the drinking water system over the next few winters and are expected to be in service by 2028.
