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Into the tunnels: A trip underground at the John Hart Generating Station

BC Hydro and InPower BC give the Mirror a glimpse into what’s going on well below the surface
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Mike Davies/Campbell River Mirror The construction of the power tunnel manifold at the John Hart Generating Station is well underway. This is where water will be re-routed through the turbines of the facility.

The final rock removal from the John Hart Generating Station Project wasn’t the only milestone the project met this week.

According to InPower BC’s Paul Sawyer, project co-representative and CEO, they have also hit peak employment on the station, which is slated to open in the fall of next year.

“We’re looking at around 500 employees who touch the project on a monthly basis right now,” Sawyer says. “That includes engineering staff as well as trades, site staff, the project management team, etc., the majority of which are from the local area and/or from around Vancouver Island.”

Spokesperson for BC Hydro, Stephen Watson, says they are proud of their safety record on-site, as well.

Removing 300,000 cubic metres of rock over 2.5 years without having a “lost time accident” in over 2.2-million person hours of work is also worth acknowledging, Watson says.

The $1.1-billion project, Watson says, is on-time and on-budget, and he welcomes the public to come up and check it out for themselves this weekend, when they are hosting their annual community site event.

Although the public won’t be venturing underground due to safety restrictions, Watson says, there will be many project managers on site during the event to answer any questions members of the public may have about how things are going down there.

Busses leave every 10 minutes from Spirit Square from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday.