Work crews are close to completing temporary repairs to Langstaff Rd. between Dufferin St. and Hwy. 7.

On May 2, workers digging out a portion of the $90-million Bathurst Collector and Langstaff Trunk Sewer project ran into trouble when the waterlogged earth around them swamped the new tunnel, leaving a multimillion-dollar boring machine stuck in the mud.

The cave-in damaged the road above and wreaked havoc on an area water main and hydro utilities.

“We’re in the process of implementing repairs to the road to allow two directions of traffic in the eastbound lanes of Langstaff through this area,” said Tomislav Hrkac, York’s Bathurst/Langstaff sewer project manager.

The Bathurst/Langstaff sewer project is part of the Big Pipe, officially known as the York Durham Sewage System, which carries York’s sewage for treatment in Pickering.

The increased sewage capacity promised by the Bathurst/Langstaff sewer is needed to accommodate eastern Vaughan’s rapid development. The anticipated year-long setback in construction will delay things, Regional Councillor Mario Ferri said Monday.

“We were so close to finishing the darn thing,” he said of the sewer, which had been scheduled for a November completion date. “Until we’re able to confirm that the Bathurst sewer system can be operational, nobody can hook up, nobody can begin to issue occupancy certificates.”

With Langstaff almost ready for a partial reopening, work will turn to pulling the trapped tunnel-boring machine out of the ground.

“All accounts are that that recovery operation will have been completed before we get there with a tunnel machine,” Hrkac said. “That will be completed within the next six months.”

Vaughan Today
Online: June 7, 2008 [link]