Millennium Line - Broadway Extension: Planning & Pre-Construction

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by jlousa

I can't elaborate, obviously... The project while not imminent is much more further ahead today then it was in 2002 and I expect more information to be made public within the next 12months.

And then 7 years later it'll be the same boat for an expo expansion down the Fraser highway to Langley, 7 years after that it'll be an expo expansion along Hastings to BCIT, 7 years after that it will be an evergreen expansion into Maple Ridge, 7 years after that it will be a further expansion from BCIT to Metrotown and dog leg into south Van/Richmond.

The pattern of skytrain development and expansion is very cyclical. every 6-8 years a new project/expansion is on the go. If you look back 7 years the Evergreen line is exactly where the Broadway Line is now. 14 years ago it was at the same level of pipe-dream fantasy that a Fraser Highway expansion is now. 14 years ago the Canada Line (at that time known as the RAV line IIRC) that was where the Broadway line is now, 21 years ago it was the original Millenium Line, and about 28 years ago it was the first Expo Expansion into Surrey that was at this same stage as the Broadway line development, after the initial Expo line proved so successful.

[red-paladin]

Trolling comments will be deleted, as they just have been.

[Ridgerunner]

Originally Posted by jsbertram

Broadway near Heather was clogged up today because of a drilling rig in the middle of the road.

Looks to me like core samples are being done, and it also suggests that Broadway is the chosen route (not 8th or 10th).

not in town right now. any chance of posting a snap of the drill rig.

good observation/post on your part and it makes me very curious.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by Ridgerunner

not in town right now. any chance of posting a snap of the drill rig.

good observation/post on your part and it makes me very curious.

Rig &tc is already gone.

perhaps others travelling along Broadway will discover where it went.

[GlassCity]

Soil test drilling underway for underground Broadway extension of SkyTrain

Over the weekend, there were some signs of life for the planned project to build the underground extension of SkyTrain’s Millennium Line along the Broadway Corridor.

Geotechnical crews were spotted on the 700 block of West Broadway, between Heather and Willow streets, drilling holes into the ground to perform tests on the soil conditions in connection with subway project. This was confirmed today by both the City of Vancouver and TransLink...

Read more: http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2015/09/soil-...erground-broadway-extension-of-skytrain/

[excel]

Build it please. Soon.

[Millennium2002]

So the plan is to bore straight down the busiest east-west connector that is Broadway...? It almost feels like a repeat of the Canada Line waiting to happen. I wonder why 10th Avenue wasn't considered instead...

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by allan_kuan

So the plan is to bore straight down the busiest east-west connector that is Broadway...? It almost feels like a repeat of the Canada Line waiting to happen. I wonder why 10th Avenue wasn't considered instead...

I don't see how the two are comparable. Boring and cut and cover are totally different.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by allan_kuan

So the plan is to bore straight down the busiest east-west connector that is Broadway...? It almost feels like a repeat of the Canada Line waiting to happen. I wonder why 10th Avenue wasn't considered instead...

Well boring should be a lot less disruptive than cut-and-cover on Cambie was, so it shouldn't be as bad. Hopefully it'll be easier than the Evergreen Line now too. I can't image the difficulty of getting all those rich house owners on 10th to let you dig down their street, so I'm sure that played a role. Minimizes the walk to the street too.

[WarrenC12]

Boring would also necessitate deeper stations, correct?

One thing I do like about some of the Canada Line stations is how quickly you go from train to surface. Broadway is one escalator compared to 3 at Yaletown, for example.

[s211]

I'm curious why the proposed 10th Avenue corridor for the Broadway line appears to have been quietly dropped. The conspiracy theorist in me says that that Vision doesn't want to upset its gilded cycling electorate that has claimed 10th for its own, and God forbid they should be inconvenienced by any construction along that route.

(For the record / open book, I bike along 10th almost weekly.)

[LeftCoaster]

Is it not possible they are doing soil tests to gather information to determine which one makes more sense?

Doing a soil test on Broadway doesn't necessarily mean they have abandoned plans for 10th.

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

I can't image the difficulty of getting all those rich house owners on 10th to let you dig down their street, so I'm sure that played a role.

I think you meant to say middle-class instead of rich.

[red-paladin]

Originally Posted by Jebby

I think you meant to say middle-class instead of rich.

If you own a single detached house on 10th, you are middle class, but you are also rich.

On point though. The soil tests need to be done regardless how the line is paid for or when it starts construction so I'm glad they are proceeding.

[Ridgerunner]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Is it not possible they are doing soil tests to gather information to determine which one makes more sense?

Doing a soil test on Broadway doesn't necessarily mean they have abandoned plans for 10th.

The "real point" is not whether they ultimately decide on Broadway or 10th (or whose chickens get chased around the roost for a few years) .. the real point is that the good folks at TL are moving.

Once all the soil tests are done (and kudos to the people for doing them well in advance) that information can be sent to the engineering folks.

One thing we are going to be real sure about is that the engineers will not permit another TBM screw up such as they had on Evergreen.

So ... drill a thousand holes, the more the better. The shorter the interval between the test holes, the greater the confidence for the TBM.

Also ... one poster made note that they could be testing which of Broadway or 10th is better.

Simple answer ... if no test drills appear on 10th, then it is dead.

[quobobo]

Originally Posted by Jebby

I think you meant to say middle-class instead of rich.

*raises eyebrow*

Median Canadian household net worth: about $250k
Median price of a detached house on the West Side: over 10 times that

[st7860]

Originally Posted by quobobo

*raises eyebrow*

Median Canadian household net worth: about $250k
Median price of a detached house on the West Side: over 10 times that

And that is all tax free if the homeowners decide to sell!

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Jebby

I don't see how the two are comparable. Boring and cut and cover are totally different.

I don't think Broadway is going to (or would) be all that much better off than Cambie. Even with a tunnel boring machine you still have to dig up the stations, which will be between 850 and 1000 meters apart. 80 meter stations plus staging area. I think Broadway will actually be a worse situation than Cambie because there are far more businesses along Broadway. Traffic lanes will still have to be reduced. It'll Susan Heyes lawsuits all over again.

[twoNeurons]

I don't care if they bore or cut n' cover, as long as they cut n' cover most stations, it will make the stations WAY more accessible. Particularly if they cut n' cover at 10th which is uphill from Broadway.

Of course, when you compare to elevated lines, tunnels are almost always 'boring'.

[logan5]

Is there a way to make station construction less disruptive? Going off previous experience with the Canada Lines TBM section downtown, station construction meant the complete closure of Granville street from Robson to Georgia (though Broadway is much wider than that section of Granville). That's 165 meters of street closure for much smaller stations.