The students who will be the first-generation of LRT riders participated in a city-sponsored contest to name the three massive drill bits that will be chewing through rock to carve out the LRT tunnel beneath Centretown.
The winning names for the “Roadheader” excavation machines are Chewrocka, Crocodile Rouge, and Jawbreaker.
These specialized diggers the students named are giant cylinders that utilize a special cutter-head on the end that can swing up, down, left or right. The machine is mounted on crawler tracks that enable it to move forward and grind out the rock to dig the tunnel.
The “Name Our Diggers” contest sought submissions from Grade 4 classes in Ottawa. The contest saw approximately 50 submissions, according to Ryan Kennery. press secretary to Mayor Jim Watson.
The winning classes got to attend a special event at city hall on late last month. Kennery says the students had the chance to meet elected officials and learn about the LRT tunnel.
Watson, Royal Galipeau, Conservative MP for Ottawa–Orléans, and Yasir Naqvi, Liberal MPP for Ottawa Centre were at the event.
Naqvi says the reason for asking for submissions from Grade 4 classes is because when the project is complete, they will be in Grade 9 and able to ride the LRT on their own.
At the event, Watson explained that the winning students will be the first generation to benefit from the light rail.
“They came up with some really cool names, and were really excited to be recognized for their ideas,” says Naqvi. “They demonstrated a lot of school pride during the presentation.”
Mikaela Lincoln, whose class submitted the name, Chewrocka, says the students were excited to participate in the contest.
“We watched a video and learned about the roadheader machines first of all. Then I asked the kids to think of an English and a French name because we’re a French immersion class. We voted which one we liked better out of the two.”
Lincoln’s class attended the event at city hall.
“They had a great time,” says Lincoln. “There was a little ceremony in the chamber where they make decisions for the city, so the kids thought it was pretty cool to be able to go in there.”
Lincoln says the students enjoyed meeting the politicians and were excited to leave the event with autographs from Watson.
According to Kennery, at the event Watson discussed the benefits of the LRT project with the students and explained how the system will work.
This project is the first stage in the City’s future rail network. Ottawa officially launched construction on the tunnel on Oct. 11.
The light rail system will run between Tunney’s Pasture and Blair Station and will have 13 stops, including three underground stations at Lyon Street, Parliament Hill and Rideau Street as part of a 2.5 kilometre tunnel aimed at alleviating some of the traffic in Centretown.