By the numbers: The Strachan Overpass project

Workers have been pounding away in a trench near Strachan Avenue since early 2011, busily burying a short stretch of Union station rail corridor as part of the GO transit Georgetown South project. When it's finished, the tracks that used to cross Strachan via a level crossing will be buried out of sight in an 8-metre hole beneath the street.

Late last month Metrolinx announced it would shortly begin construction on a new bridge over the grade separation that will eventually become part of Strachan Ave., signaling the project is past the half way stage. Right now the road is open but traffic is following a slight diversion. The project is due to wrap in the fall of 2014.

Here's a closer look at the project by the numbers:

• DURATION OF PROJECT: 2011-2014 (projected)
• LENGTH OF TRENCH: 1.4 kilometres (King Street West to Bathurst Street)
• SIZE OF OVERPASS: 19m width X 42m length
• MAXIMUM DEPTH: 8 metres
• DIRT DISPLACED: Over 70,000 cubic meters
• PILES USED: Approx. 1,500 (drilled 10-20m deep for watertight depressed corridor)
• TUNNEL BORING MACHINES USED: 1 (to create a 520 meter long Siphon tunnel)
• PUMPING STATIONS: 1 (a dedicated station is necessary for drainage)
• BIKE LANES: 2 (hooray!)
• ANTI-GRAFFITI COATING: To be applied to all wall surfaces
• PUBLIC ART PROJECTS: 1 (on the temporary retaining wall at Strachan Avenue)

MORE IMAGES:

The north trench as it appears now

Rendering of the finished product

Close-up of trench "roof" and Strachan overpass

Got a project you'd like to see broken down by the numbers? Let us know in the comments.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Images: Vik Pahwa/blogTO Flickr pool and Metrolinx