The massive boring machine Phyllis had a breakthrough a few days ago, cutting through the wall at the (future) South Granville station.
Phyllis is the lead of the two machines (Elsie is somewhere behind in its own tunnel), cutting through the earth below Broadway for the incoming Broadway subway. At 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 20, 2023, it broke down the wall between the tunnel, which stretches from Great Northern Way, and the site of the future subway platforms at Granville Street and Broadway.
It's the penultimate station on the tunnelling machine's journey, which will keep going to Arbutus where it'll break through in 2024.
The video shows the moment the huge, grinding front end of Phyllis pushes through the wall at the station, which already had a hole in it, for the machine. The machine doesn't just grind away the earth, but also builds the tunnel at the same time, moving like an inch worm does.
