Hope B.C. - CP Rail has awarded Emil Anderson Construction Co. Ltd., of Hope, contracts to increase the vertical clearance in tunnels along the railway's main line through the Fraser Canyon and along the Thompson River Valley.
 
The work will increase the height of six tunnels along the rail line between Hope and North Bend and another just west of Kamloops and will allow the railway to operate new enclosed multi-level auto transporters and other over-sized and dimensional-load rail cars.
 
About 3,700 linear feet (1,128 metres) of tunnels will be drilled, blasted, and scaled to increase their overhead dimensions by between 12 and 20 inches (30.5 and 50.8 centimetres), bringing all clearances to a standard 22 feet (6.7 metres) from rail head to tunnel roof.
 
CAPACITY IMPROVEMENTS
 
Approximately $450,000 will be spent on the tunnel work which includes rock bolting and "shotcreting" (applying a concrete mixture to rock faces to prevent weathering).
 
Meanwhile, CP Rail's capacity improvement work in the Twin Butte, B.C., area has been completed this month.
 
About 7.4 miles (11.9 kilometres) of double track was laid at various points three miles (4.8 kilometres) east of Revelstoke.
 
The work, which included new bridges at Twin Butte and Greeley last year, is specifically designed to improve service on the Mountain subdivision between Revelstoke and Field.
 
Other work included the grading of the right-of-way and construction of 7.4 miles (11.9 kilometres) of track and the installation of automatic signals, bridges, and culverts. Some 155 men were employed in this season's program.
 
In addition to the track work, this year's program included clearing and grading for the 1984 double tracking project which will see an additional 8.7 miles (14 kilometres) of double tracking constructed in the area.