Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by ortelius

Amazing video of construction in the east.

Wow... that's very cool indeed!

[HighwayStar]

Originally Posted by ortelius

Amazing video of construction in the east.

ok... whoever the hell put that together... I salute you

Drone footage notwithstanding... excellent production values with great captions and inset pictures of the stations...

thanks

[hwy418]

Originally Posted by ortelius

Amazing video of construction in the east.

Very cool - hope to see one for the west segment!

[McC]

Looked to me like the operator took it up past the 90 metre regulated limit for unlicensed UAV use at the end there. I'm telling...

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

You have to wonder what we are doing. Making streets available for more cars or for STO buses, the latter which will never be moved off of downtown streets, at least until interprovincial rapid transit finally becomes important to somebody who has some power to do something about it.

What "we" are doing is a combination of pandering to the suburbs, and to some weird, antiquated cult of Prettyism which views having transit vehicles on streets as somehow blightly and unsightly.

There is no consideration - NONE - not in current operations, not in current plans, not in future plans, for the user experience, convenience, or comfort.

You see it time and time again in crappy routing, crappy connections, crappy schedules, inadequate shelter, inadequate point-of-waiting and point-of-boarding transit information, poorly designed stations, inattentiveness to ambient weather conditions, poorly-situated stops; on and on and on it goes.

It is extraordinary how few effs OC Transpo gives, especially if you are not their core clientele of suburban express riders: after YEARS of there being a hideous bottleneck affecting the 5 and 16 between King Edward and Laurier/Mackenzie King westbound, now that there are suburban routes impacted by the same bottleneck due to the Campus LRT detour, there are policecops directing traffic to try and smooth the flow.

This couldn't have been done for the benefit of local route customers who have wasted cumulative days of their lives trapped in the same spot? It's not like OC Transpo didn't know about this problem before. They simply didn't care.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by ortelius

Amazing video of construction in the east.

Wow!

I wants a droaaaannnnn!!!!

[rocketphish]

Construction Update
Week of April 25

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Lyon Station footing for centre pillars

Lyon Station

In Lyon Station cavern, crews waterproof the station arch, and pour the mudslab and centre pillar footing that will form part of the final station. At West Portal, crews excavate the ramp to prepare for future guideway and trackwork.

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Running tunnel looking east from central shaft

Parliament Station

In Parliament Station cavern, crews excavate the bench and reinforce the cavern. In the last section of running tunnel east of Parliament Station, mining progresses toward Rideau Station cavern. Ongoing tunnel support includes shotcrete and rockbolt installations

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Grouting Rideau Station cavern umbrella

Rideau Station

In Rideau Station cavern, mining of the central pillar continues, along with cavern support activities. Waterproofing begins on the north side of the station.

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Excavation at Lyon Station west entrance

Downtown Integrated Stations and Entrances – Lyon, Parliament and Rideau Stations

Lyon Station west entrance: crews continue blasting, material removals and reinforcements. At the west vent shaft, hoe ramming and line drilling take place. At the east vent shaft, mobilization for pile drilling continues.

Lyon Station east entrance: crews continue formwork and rebar installation. Demolition of the slabs continues on the parking levels.

Traffic restrictions on Queen Street between Bay and Metcalfe streets remain in effect.

Parliament Station west entrance: crews pour the lower escalator and stair walls. Installation of steel columns and beams for the escalator pit is ongoing. Shoring contractors mobilize.

Parliament Station east entrance: crews install formwork and rebar for columns on the concourse level, and install structural steel.

Traffic restrictions on Queen and O’Connor streets remain in effect.

Rideau Station east entrance: waterproofing and pouring of the mud slab continues.

Rideau Station west entrance: utility relocations and waterproofing take place. Crews continue drilling micro-piles as part of umbrella work.

Traffic restrictions on Rideau Street remain in effect.

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Backfilling and material removals at Tunney’s Pasture Station bus loop

Tunney’s Pasture, Pimisi, uOttawa, and Lees Stations

Tunney’s Pasture Station: crews remove materials and backfill as part of temporary bus loop work.

Pimisi Station: crews continue preliminary station excavation and material removals.

uOttawa Station: crews continue preliminary removals and mobilization, including fencing and site trailers.

Lees Station: mobilization and demolition of existing structures are ongoing.

Transitway service adjustment from Lees to Laurier stations.

Closure of Transitway pedestrian access from Lees to uOttawa stations.

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Structural steel installations at Blair Station

Hurdman, Tremblay, St-Laurent, Cyrville and Blair Stations

Hurdman Station: crews install insulation, pour grade beams and continue grading as part of station work.

Excavation and material removals continue as part of permanent bus loop work.

Tremblay Station: concrete pours, waterproofing, rebar installation on footings and duct bank installations occur. Near the west ring road, crews continue concrete work. Sanitary sewer connections occur across Tremblay Road.

St-Laurent Station: crews install formwork, grade beams and begin pouring concrete for the direct fixation track. Track installation begins in the station.

Cyrville Station: crews continue electrical work, backfilling, rebar and structural steel installations. Work on the roof of the auxiliary building is ongoing. Track installation begins in the station.

Blair Station: crews complete suspended slab pours and begin pouring approach slabs. Backfilling, waterproofing and installing structural steel are ongoing.

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Installation of formwork on the Hurdman Station elevated guideway deck

Guideway Construction – Booth Street Bridge, Hurdman Station and Tremblay Station to Blair Station

Booth Street Bridge: crews finalize formwork and rebar installations in preparation for concrete pours.

Hurdman Station Elevated Guideway: crews install formwork and rebar in preparation for concrete pours.

Tremblay Station to Blair Station: guideway activities continue including ballast tamping from Blair Station to past Cyrville Station as well as duct bank and OCS foundation installations east of Belfast Yard. Crews continue pulling rails at St-Laurent Station moving west.

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Upcoming Construction Activities

The following construction activities are scheduled to occur:

In the coming weeks:

• Installation of caissons at Bayview Station.
• Final waterproofing and concrete work in Parliament Station cavern.
• Excavation of the ramp at East Portal.
• Mann Avenue Bridge rehabilitation.
• Watermain work near St-Laurent Station, along the guideway.
• Watermain relocation at Cyrville Station.
• Bus operators’ building construction at Blair Station.

In the coming months:

• Tunney’s Pasture Station construction.
• Bayview Station construction.
• Pimisi Station construction.

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OLRT-C rescue team

Did you know?

Did you know tunnel crews are regularly trained on tunnel safety procedures? OLRT-C has its own tunnel rescue team and dedicated tunnel rescue trainer. We have detailed safety procedures and practices, including the use of electronic tracking devices and self-contained self-rescuers available for every person in the tunnel.

The safety team also conducts regular safety drills and emergency evacuations to ensure worker safety.

http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/news/construction-update-71/

[Richard Eade]

OK, now that we are going to get a covered track through LeBreton Flats, how will this change anything that the RTG has planned? Should the RV LeBreton group start discussions immediately with RTG about how things might need to change? Can the RV LeBreton group give some money to RTG to install some preliminary infrastructure?

Since RTG will be digging up the entire corridor and, possibly, laying/moving utilities in the area, maybe it can be done with respect to what RV LeBreton will be doing. Maybe RTG could lay in a proper foundation for the high wall/columns that will be holding back all the fill on the south side and holding up the road over the LRT. That way the RV LeBreton group won't need to dig so close to a working rail line (or, worse, have to leave too big a buffer).

Now is the time to start those discussions (well, actually it was last year, but that is past). It will cost the RV LeBreton group money to have RTG make changes or do some of the preliminary work, but it will be a lot cheaper and easier now than later.

[McC]

Exactly. I've wondering the same things (and hoping this LeBreton process isn't two years too late to avoid costly re-workings). I'm not sure how the NCC and RV can undertake to do those works with RV while still negotiating with each other in good faith. I think that the NCC would have to (on their own) decide that no matter what gets built, and by whom, on the Flats, it *will* have properties a, b, and c, (including the subway, and other pipes, and such as you mention). Then the NCC would begin negotiating bilaterally in parallel with RTG on how to incorporate those features into/around the OLRT and ORAP works as efficiently as possible, to leverage the equipment and skills already on site, minimize marginal costs and avoid disruptions down the line (punalert!)

[MoreTrains]

I have a feeling that the changes to the track would be replacing the catenary cable with the solid conductors as in the stations and maybe sinking the LRT a few feet down and building a fatter and deeper foundation. Apart from that, I don't forsee much else being needed.

[McC]

Originally Posted by MoreTrains

I have a feeling that the changes to the track would be replacing the catenary cable with the solid conductors as in the stations and maybe sinking the LRT a few feet down and building a fatter and deeper foundation.

I'm no expert in construction, but those sound like difficult things to do after the fact. The city is often so reticent to keep a sidewalk open under construction, it's hard to believe they would run full-speed rapid transit underneath the construction to cap the line. I'm saying this a lot today: I'd like to be proved wrong, "beam falls on train, shuts line for..." would be a pretty crummy headline in 2020.

[Aylmer]

I know it's essentially meaningless outside of transitgeekland, but with the Lebreton plan, Ottawa will end up with 3.5 km of underground track. It got me thinking about what other parts of the LRT network could/should be covered.

- Scott St. Trench from Stonehurst to the SJAM tunnel (3.2 km, 6.5 km with the SJAM tunnel); it would be a good opportunity for development around the stations as well as some parkland to stitch together the residential neighbourhoods on either side of the trench.
- O-Train trench from Bayview to the Queensway; with the new Gladstone station, this would be a good spot for development along with the industrial lands beside the tracks.
- O-Train trench around Carling
- O-Train trench north of Carleton station; Some new university buildings and crossings would help bring together both sides of the tracks
- O-Train from Riverside to the Airport Parkway; In my opinion, this whole mess of spaghetti slip roads and parking lots needs to be razed and redone. And one of the pedestrian-hostile elements is the lack of crossings across the railway.
- LRT around the Lees trench

If those trenches are covered by time Phase 2 is completed, then Ottawa's LRT network will be over a third subway. Again, not that it really matters, but there is something irrationally big-city about underground transit

[Aylmer]

Originally Posted by McC

I'm no expert in construction, but those sound like difficult things to do after the fact. The city is often so reticent to keep a sidewalk open under construction, it's hard to believe they would run full-speed rapid transit underneath the construction to cap the line. I'm saying this a lot today: I'd like to be proved wrong, "beam falls on train, shuts line for..." would be a pretty crummy headline in 2020.

I'm no expert either, but I'd imagine that they'd shut it down over a few Sundays to install a concrete box over the LRT as well as solid-contact wires. Once the box is installed, they could start construction on the podiums with little to no disruption to service.

Of course, I'm positive it's more complicated than that in real life.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by McC

I'm no expert in construction, but those sound like difficult things to do after the fact. The city is often so reticent to keep a sidewalk open under construction, it's hard to believe they would run full-speed rapid transit underneath the construction to cap the line. I'm saying this a lot today: I'd like to be proved wrong, "beam falls on train, shuts line for..." would be a pretty crummy headline in 2020.

Worse yet, beam falls on tracks, train derails, 20 people killed. Anybody remember the details of what happened when Carleton was building over the Trillium Line? I know the Trillium Line closed but for how long?

It does seem to me that there is some urgency to work together now that there is a plan to cover the Confederation Line, in order to contain costs and minimize or eliminate service disruptions.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by MoreTrains

I have a feeling that the changes to the track would be replacing the catenary cable with the solid conductors as in the stations and maybe sinking the LRT a few feet down and building a fatter and deeper foundation. Apart from that, I don't forsee much else being needed.

I suspect they would do something similar to what Calgary did when they encased a section of their C Train to build their new Central Library, just on a much larger scale. The track didn't move, and for the catenary, it looks like they moved the wires from poles to supports attached to the walls. A time lapse video of the encasement is shown below. You can see trains running the whole time.

• Video Link

[McC]

there are no more trains after ~0:52, and there are people and trucks on the tracks while they are actually capping the box.

[zzptichka]

Eric Darwin has an interesting idea: run one of the older O-Trains as a shuttle from Bayview to Terrasses de la Chaudiere across the POW bridge.
http://www.westsideaction.com/watson-lets-prince-of-wales-slip-his-tongue/

[1overcosc]

In Toronto, the Yonge subway between Bloor and Eglinton was originally built as an exposed line. Most of that section has since been covered. It's definitely been done before. It's not something that requires a huge shutdown.

[Horus]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Eric Darwin has an interesting idea: run one of the older O-Trains as a shuttle from Bayview to Terrasses de la Chaudiere across the POW bridge.
http://www.westsideaction.com/watson-lets-prince-of-wales-slip-his-tongue/

I came across that posting yesterday as well. It's a great idea, and something that could be relatively easy and inexpensive to implement.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Horus

I came across that posting yesterday as well. It's a great idea, and something that could be relatively easy and inexpensive to implement.

Not as inexpensive as it sounds. I gather the POW bridge is in need of major repair to make it safe for use, though I can't provide any references to confirm this (though it is over 135 years old and little has been done to it since it was purchased by the City of Ottawa about 15 years ago).