Right now, workers and machines are slicing the wall into 10 pieces. Divers drill holes in the wall underwater and feed a diamond wire saw through it. The wire is attached to a machine on shore that turns, slicing through the concrete, cutting 10 to 15 feet per day.
Each piece will weigh about 45 to 55 metric tonnes, Forbes said — about 99,000 to 121,000 pounds.
Cutting such a massive piece takes time. To slice three metres off the top of the west plug (to allow room for a barge to hold the excavator that will remove some pieces) took about a month, [Waterfront Toronto’s project director Don] Forbes said.