Millennium Line - Broadway Extension: Planning & Pre-Construction

[jollyburger]

Doubt Block F warrants a station.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Doubt Block F warrants a station.

Maybe, maybe not. The B-Line already has a stop at Allison which can be shifted a couple blocks east.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by jsbertram

I'm reading this as Translink or BC Gov't is trying to find others with deep pockets to 'chip in' their share to pay for segments / stations that will benefit the 'others'

I'm hoping the line runs straight from the Jericho lands to and across the University golf course lands (where it can be a cheap cut and cover route or be elevated instead of entering the campus on University Blvd).

[interrobang]

The shortlist is down to 2 teams.

SNC-Lavalin told The Canadian Press it will withdraw from projects it’s been shortlisted for, including Vancouver’s $2.83-billion Broadway subway extension

No public news on whether this would also include the Pattullo Bridge

SNC Quiting Fixed Price Contracts

[SFUVancouver]

Interesting development on SNC Lavalin backing out of the shortlist for the project. Not that I think it would be a valid argument, but it's somewhat of a relief that were SNC Lavalin to have won the contract, when the inevitable negativity and push-back from some merchants and residents about the construction disruption, they won't be able to negatively associate the project with SNC Lavalin's many misdeeds.

On a separate note, I was in town this weekend and took a look around the new Emily Carr campus and wondered aloud to my friend if the existing Equinox Gallery industrial building couldn't be integrated somehow into the station house for the stop on the line. I would even go so far as to say that it would be an ideal way of giving that station some unique identity and link it to the area's industrial history in a way that Yaletown Station, for example, failed utterly to do.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Interesting development on SNC Lavalin backing out of the shortlist for the project. Not that I think it would be a valid argument, but it's somewhat of a relief that were SNC Lavalin to have won the contract, when the inevitable negativity and push-back from some merchants and residents about the construction disruption, they won't be able to negatively associate the project with SNC Lavalin's many misdeeds.

Yes, it removes an unneeded distraction from the whole process. Hopefully without any resultant lack of quality.

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

On a separate note, I was in town this weekend and took a look around the new Emily Carr campus and wondered aloud to my friend if the existing Equinox Gallery industrial building couldn't be integrated somehow into the station house for the stop on the line. I would even go so far as to say that it would be an ideal way of giving that station some unique identity and link it to the area's industrial history in a way that Yaletown Station, for example, failed utterly to do.

I think where that building is located will be a section of guideway, specifically the decline from above ground to ground level or below. Virtually impossible to save without changing the alignment.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Yes, it removes an unneeded distraction from the whole process. Hopefully without any resultant lack of quality.

I think where that building is located will be a section of guideway, specifically the decline from above ground to ground level or below. Virtually impossible to save without changing the alignment.

They would be better off recreating some fake industrial looking stationhouse then trying to fix that building.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by interrobang

The shortlist is down to 2 teams.

No public news on whether this would also include the Pattullo Bridge

SNC Quiting Fixed Price Contracts

SNC-Lavalin drops out of the running for Broadway Subway and Pattullo Bridge contracts
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/snc-lavalin-broadway-subway-july-2019

[Xerx]

Bit of a construction industry question: why is it that Spanish companies have such a strong presence with these bids? Both remaining Millennium Line bids are led by Spanish companies, with some Spanish subcontractors and one of the Patullo Bridge bidders is led by a Spanish company. Have they just managed to build up expertise these past few decades?

[dothediu]

Originally Posted by Xerx

Bit of a construction industry question: why is it that Spanish companies have such a strong presence with these bids? Both remaining Millennium Line bids are led by Spanish companies, with some Spanish subcontractors and one of the Patullo Bridge bidders is led by a Spanish company. Have they just managed to build up expertise these past few decades?

They are good at tunneling / TBM

[Bdawe]

Originally Posted by Xerx

Bit of a construction industry question: why is it that Spanish companies have such a strong presence with these bids? Both remaining Millennium Line bids are led by Spanish companies, with some Spanish subcontractors and one of the Patullo Bridge bidders is led by a Spanish company. Have they just managed to build up expertise these past few decades?

The Spanish have just about the cheapest infrastructure projects in the world

[jollyburger]

Kind of interesting take on how they got that expertise.

Financial Times: Spain pushes boundaries to dominate construction
The beginning of Spain’s success story in global infrastructure and concessions starts in the heady days of the late 1990s and the early 2000s, when money was cheap and a spending-spree was under way by Spain’s national government.

In the period, Spain built the second-longest high-speed rail network in the world and the government splurged on toll roads. In domestic construction, Spain in 2007 accounted for more housing starts than Germany, France, Britain and Italy combined.

Much of this money was inefficiently spent, according to studies.

According to a June report by the Association of Spanish Geographers, government agencies spent more than €81bn between 1995 and 2016 on “infrastructure that was unnecessary, abandoned, underutilised or poorly programmed”.

But efficient or not, the sheer size of the spending was a boon for groups in the Spanish construction sector, the most canny of which used their new-found expertise and domestic war chest to start expanding abroad and competing globally for big projects.

https://www.ft.com/content/2e454798-cae8-11e8-b276-b9069bde0956

[Migrant_Coconut]

It's called the "Spanish" solution for a reason, right? Madrid and Barcelona are considered some of the best metros in Europe - chances are they know what they're doing.

[cairnstone]

Originally Posted by Xerx

Bit of a construction industry question: why is it that Spanish companies have such a strong presence with these bids? Both remaining Millennium Line bids are led by Spanish companies, with some Spanish subcontractors and one of the Patullo Bridge bidders is led by a Spanish company. Have they just managed to build up expertise these past few decades?

I dont believe there are any domestic companies that do TBM and also these larger companies all have a legacy of doing concession projects with big pockets funding them. What is going to be interesting is how much they both will be over budget. As in the past TBM would have a core crew from the company that is very familiar with the machine. Now with the CBA and one less bidder i bet the pricing will be about 15% over budget to start

[Hooknose]

[QUOTE=officedweller;8624010]Someone posted a while back that the Lululemon / Crossroads space may not be feasible or may be too expensive.

What we inferred that to mean is that the Broadway City Hall platform for the Broadway Subway may be located wholly east of Cambie Street - so the entrance at Crossroads, being west of Cambie, would require a passage under the Canada Line tunnels to reach the new platform.

May I jump in with a rumour??

It seems that existing city hall on 12th is not seismically sound. And ... it cannot be upgraded. The city has already taken down the office building between city hall and 10th avenue. It was a newer building but still not seismically sound. Cheaper to demo and rebuild.

That means that a new city hall needs to be built. but where???

Turns out that the city owns the entire block between 10th and Broadway, cambie and Yukon.

The rumour that i have heard is that a new city hall will be built on that block, with the existing city hall staying empty except for ceremonial occasions. I have heard a tower of 25 stories is slated for Broadway and Yukon.

The importance of that for skytrain is that a kind of city square (underground) on one level connecting north/south with east/west is on the planning board.

it would be fantastic.

[logan5]

Now that's a juicy rumour, but with only 107 posts in 2.5 years, you don't have a lot of Skyscraper cred. Do you work for the CoV in some capacity?

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Hooknose

The rumour that i have heard is that a new city hall will be built on that block, with the existing city hall staying empty except for ceremonial occasions. I have heard a tower of 25 stories is slated for Broadway and Yukon.

Yup - that's been the site for a new City Hall facility for at least 20 years.
The only part of the site where a tower can be built is at the corner of Yukon due to view cones.

Haven't seen a reference to any particular height before, though.

[WarrenC12]

That might be cool. I like our city hall as an iconic building, but the park space to the north is completely wasted IMO. Not well used for what should be a prime spot in the city. The surface parking is a waste too.

[jollyburger]

Why is that a rumour it's already pretty much confirmed that the City is looking at consolidating their municipal operations in a new campus in the area.

https://vancouver.ca/your-government/reimagine-city-hall.aspx

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

i think the CoV is pretty much always does that whole do-as-i-say not-as-i-do thing. so a new city building going into the view-cones is most likely 100% going to happen at this point.

i heard that a consultant has already given options to the CoV at this point already. but the old building will be 100% staying in place.