Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[rocketphish]

Concrete pumping continues this morning:





http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/sinkhole-road-closures

[Uhuniau]

That last photo is amazing.

[11a2b3]

Vid taken above Rideau Centre. Shows that van being swallowed up by sinkhole.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrvirRH_-5E&feature=youtu.be

[Melgibson1972]

I've heard that the roadheader located at the centre shaft and running tunnel have been buried completely and the tunnel is almost flooded out with water, my sources confirm. Machine buried completely

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by Melgibson1972

I've heard that the roadheader located at the centre shaft and running tunnel have been buried completely and the tunnel is almost flooded out with water, my sources confirm. Machine buried completely

Don't think I'm buying this. At 1pm press conference today, Rail Implementation director Steve Cripps confirmed that Rideau Cavern is undamaged.

[Melgibson1972]

I'm talking about the running tunnel west of Rideau station where they are working to break through to rideau station (parliament station heading east to Rideau shortly after the canal)

[MarkR]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Interestingly, there used to be a Canal connecting Rideau canal and Rideau river. Unfortunately it was buried long time ago.

When the canal was built, the topmost lock was located at a "beaver meadow", and that stream (later called the ByWash) was simply the drainage outlet for the meadow. It's also the reason York and King Edward are so wide, as the road lanes went alongside it until the stream was covered over and the road lanes were widened.

(Most urban streams don't get filled in, but get covered and turned into part of the City's storm drains.)

[McC]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

Don't think I'm buying this. At 1pm press conference today, Rail Implementation director Steve Cripps confirmed that Rideau Cavern is undamaged.

All the tweets I saw were very (oddly?) specific about the Rideau Station Cavern being undamaged, I didn't see any mention of the state of the running tunnel further west (which I presume is at a lower depth, too). We'll see after the meeting tonight.

[AndyMEng]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

I'm curious to know where all that material went prior to the collapse. That's huge amount of stuff, I doubt it was going into the tunnel as they would have seen it coming in for hours beforehand.

My Theory:

1. Construction caused a shift in the rocky sand.
2. Water main and sewage main broke catastrophically, spewing all that water and sewage into the sand/rock mix.
3. The slurry expanded quickly under the street, and the massive head of water failed the sheet piles at the edge of the station escalator excavation. Then the entire wet sandy mix tidal waved into the excavation (you can see the high water mark from the wave in the photos).
4. All that flowable material washed out, leaving a void which was expanded by that crazy spray of water coming out of the main.

[rocketphish]

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...o-know-about-closures-causes-precautions

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by AndyMEng

My Theory:

1. Construction caused a shift in the rocky sand.
2. Water main and sewage main broke catastrophically, spewing all that water and sewage into the sand/rock mix.
3. The slurry expanded quickly under the street, and the massive head of water failed the sheet piles at the edge of the station escalator excavation. Then the entire wet sandy mix tidal waved into the excavation (you can see the high water mark from the wave in the photos).
4. All that flowable material washed out, leaving a void which was expanded by that crazy spray of water coming out of the main.

But it seems like the construction workers were clueless that the sinkhole collapse was imminent which means the bulk of the material was already going somewhere else? Didn't they evacuate the running tunnel after being alerted of the collapse? I heard a figure that said the running tunnel was very close to breaking through the Rideau station cavern which places it very close if not below the sinkhole (didn't they shift the station to the east a bit?).

It will be interesting to see the report, whether slurry was going into the running tunnel before the collapse because that would lay blame directly on the LRT construction, which has huge implications because RTG would have to bear the full cost.

[rocketphish]

Construction Update
Week of June 6

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Work continues at Tunney’s Pasture bus loop

West Stations

Here you see Tunney’s Pasture Station, where crews continue grading and pouring the concrete platform as part of temporary bus loop construction in preparation for the June 24 Transitway service adjustment. Crews continue excavation and electrical work for the supervisor’s building and begin installing the rock wall next to the Transitway.

Bayview Station: crews install caissons and pour concrete as part of preliminary station work.

Pimisi Station: crews excavate and remove materials, part of initial station work.

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Excavation at the west vent shaft near Lyon Station

Central Stations

Lyon Station cavern: the station continues to take shape as crews install formwork and rebar for the concourse slab, in preparation for additional concrete work. Waterproofing of the station arch is finalized as crews move onto the next phase of station works. At the West Portal, crews excavate the ramp to prepare for future guideway work.

Here you see excavation at the west vent shaft near Lyon Station. At the west entrance, crews continue excavating the station entrance; activities include blasting, hoe ramming and installing reinforcements. At the HVAC shaft, rock removals are ongoing. Excavation continues at the west and east vent shafts, which will be used to allow air to be expelled from the tunnel to the streets.

Lyon Station east entrance: on the station concourse level, crews pour concrete piers as part of foundation work. Crews install formwork and rebar at the adit wall, as well as for the station elevator pit and walls.

Parliament Station cavern: crews install rebar, electrical pipes and pour concrete, part of the next phase of station work. Waterproofing of the station cavern and concrete pours for the L-walls are ongoing.

Parliament Station west entrance: at the station entrance, crews install falsework and rebar for the slab, part of foundation work and construction of the escalator walls is ongoing. Traffic setup and hoarding installation continue at the west and east vent shafts, which will be used to allow air to be expelled from the tunnel to the streets.

Parliament Station east entrance: the east entrance continues to take shape as crews install structural steel and beams as part of work on the station stairs. Outside the station at street level, crews excavate and install reinforcements.

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

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Final works on the crane base at Rideau Station east entrance

Central Stations

Rideau Station cavern: with cavern excavation complete, crews continue initial station concrete work including rebar installation and concrete pours. At the East Portal, crews undertake piling as part of reinforcement work, in preparation for future guideway construction.

Rideau Station west entrance: station excavation nears completion and crews waterproof the station adit and elevator pits. Crews install grade beams as part of station foundation work. Reinforcements are ongoing for the escalator pit.

Traffic restrictions on Rideau Street remain in effect.
Here you see Rideau Station east entrance. To prepare for the next stage of station construction, including formwork, crews complete final work on the crane [link to notice]. Station waterproofing is ongoing in preparation for concrete work. At the west vent shaft, crews install rebar and begin pouring concrete.

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Platform demolition at uOttawa Station

Central Stations

Here you see uOttawa Station, where excavation and reinforcement installation continue as part of preliminary station work and crews demolish a section of the pedestrian tunnel.

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Tremblay Station walls and duct bank work

East Stations

Lees Station: crews continue demolition and removals in preparation for caisson installation in the coming weeks, part of preliminary station work.

Closure of Transitway pedestrian access from Lees to uOttawa stations.

Hurdman Station: station construction progresses as crews install rebar, pour concrete and continue station foundation work including grade beam installation. Bus loop construction progresses; activities include excavation, grading and electrical installations. Work on the foundation of the bus operators’ building is ongoing including installation of footings.

Here you see Tremblay Station, which is beginning to take shape as crews begin the next phase of work, with structural steel installation, concrete pours, and excavation for the canopy footings. Crews continue working on the sanitary connection.

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Fixation slab poured at St-Laurent Station

East Stations

Here you see St-Laurent Station,where rebar installation and final concrete pours for the fixation slab occur as part of trackwork activities. Station work progresses as crews continue mechanical and electrical installations and begin trenching for the sanitary line. Crews prepare to install structural steel for the plenum. In the electrical room, crews begin concrete pours.

Cyrville Station: the station continues progressing as work on the metal roof deck and installation of station structural steel is ongoing. Crews begin flooring work on the main level of the auxiliary building. Work also occurs on the TPSS, the structure which will be used to power the light rail vehicles.

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Structural steel and platform work at Blair Station

East Stations

Here you see Blair Station, where station construction advances as work continues on the station’s structural steel frame and metal roof deck. Crews install plumbing, continue electrical work and pour concrete inside the station building. Station trackwork is ongoing with ballast installations and alignments.

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Excavating the running tunnel between Parliament and Rideau stations

Tunnel Excavation and Support

Running tunnel east of Parliament Station: Jawbreaker and Chewrocka excavate the running tunnel bench moving east toward Rideau Station. Crews install the umbrella and arch lining pours are ongoing, part of final concrete works.

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Grading and OCS pole installations just west of Tremblay Station

Guideway – East Portal to Rideau River Transitway Bridge and Belfast Yard to Blair Station

East Portal to Rideau River Transitway Bridge: guideway activities are ongoing as crews continue sewer work and excavate for OCS (Overhead Catenary Systems) foundations and duct bank installation.

Hurdman Station Elevated Guideway: crews install formwork for the east abutment wing walls and pour concrete for the platform deck.

Belfast Yard to Tremblay Station: crews install ballast moving west. Here you see grading and OCS pole installations just west of Tremblay Station.

St-Laurent Station to Blair Station: In preparation for testing of vehicles on tracks later this fall, crews continue final alignment and survey work.

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Line painting and final works on Scott Street

Other Activities

Here you see Scott Street, where crews complete the final resurfacing works, including flex post installation and line painting.

CPR Bridge near Bayview Station: crews continue working on caissons including drilling and pouring concrete, part of preliminary bridge renewal works.

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Concrete pours on the Booth Street Bridge

Other Activities

Here you see the Booth Street Bridge, which begins to take shape as crews pour concrete for the parapet walls and complete sidewalks.

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Upcoming Construction Activities

In the coming weeks, the following construction activities are scheduled to occur:

• Tunney’s Pasture Station construction.
• Bayview Station construction.
• Bayview Bridge renewal.
• Final concrete work in Parliament Station cavern.
• Mann Avenue Bridge rehabilitation.
• Watermain work near St-Laurent Station, along the guideway.
• TPSS deliveries along the alignment.
• Bus operators’ building construction at Blair Station.

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http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/news/construction-update-76/

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by McC

All the tweets I saw were very (oddly?) specific about the Rideau Station Cavern being undamaged, I didn't see any mention of the state of the running tunnel further west (which I presume is at a lower depth, too). We'll see after the meeting tonight.

I heard that RTG has resumed work at other points in the tunnel and only the Rideau station area remains on hold.

Also, if my memory of the tunnel layout serves correct, Rideau station is the lowest point on the tunnel; going west, the tunnel actually inclines up slightly to O'Connor Station; this would prevent water from flooding that way due to simple gravity.

[Kitchissippi]

Strange, the last update seems to have disappeared from the LRT website...or was it swallowed by the sinkhole?

[kevinbottawa]

Melgibson1972 was right. The tunnel is flooded.

http://m.ottawasun.com/2016/06/10/ottawa...-fix-utilities-and-list-of-road-closures

[rocketphish]

LRT tunnel below sinkhole is flooded, engineers discover

Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: June 10, 2016 | Last Updated: June 10, 2016 8:24 PM EDT

A 300-metre stretch of the LRT tunnel underneath Rideau Street, where a massive sinkhole opened up this week, is flooded, the city said Friday.

As crews at street level continued working around the clock to fill in the hole and repair damaged utilities, engineers ventured into the tunnel two dozen metres underground where excavation had been underway at the time of Wednesday’s road collapse, which swallowed a minivan and one piece of construction equipment, and caused huge headaches for transit users and businesses in the area.

There were no injuries and no cause has been established, though many wonder if it could be connected to the LRT digging.

“Over the next several days, water will be pumped out to allow teams to better assess the impact and plan the path forward,” city manager Steve Kanellakos wrote in a late-afternoon memo sent to Mayor Jim Watson and city councillors.

It was the first confirmation that the sinkhole, which was estimated to be about five metres deep, has affected the tunnel.

Earlier Friday, Kanellakos told Postmedia in an interview that engineers believed there would be no permanent damage to the tunnel, which is a key part of the $2.1-billion Confederation LRT line set to open in 2018.

“It’s just a question of getting out some of the water, some of the debris that might have come in,” said Kanellakos, who added he’d had a productive meeting with RTG officials Thursday.

“They are focused on getting back to work,” he said, noting it’s still early to know when crews might return to their jobs at that location. RTG is working on a “tunnel reinstallment plan.”

Elsewhere underground, work continues in the three downtown stations, including Rideau, which is just east of the sinkhole site. Crews were down to the final 50 metres of tunnelling at the time of Wednesday’s road collapse.

RTG officials don’t fear the timeline for opening the LRT line will be delayed, Kanellakos said.

No one from RTG was available for an interview, but the company is supplying the city with regular updates, said spokeswoman Kathryn Keyes.

Meanwhile, workers at street level focused on repairing the damaged infrastructure after they had poured several thousand cubic metres of concrete into the hole and waited for it to set.

Rideau Transit Group, which is building the LRT, is coordinating the repair work with various city departments and the utility companies.

Pipes located deepest in the ground used to move sewage and stormwater were to be fixed first, followed by water and utilities, including power, natural gas and telephone, which are located closer to the surface, Kanellakos said.

As of Friday evening, Colonel By Drive has been opened to Daly Avenue northbound, and southbound from Mackenzie Boulevard in its entirety.

Kanellakos had hoped the city would be able to reopen Sussex Drive for the weekend while crews worked in the hole, but his late-day memo said that wouldn’t be possible.

“Staff from RTG have met with city departments and utilities to understand their specific needs and to assemble a schedule and plan for conducting repairs on affected infrastructure. Based on those discussions, staff are recommending that road closures remain in place until the full extent of the impact on surrounding infrastructure can be determined,” the memo said.

The stretch of Rideau Street between Dalhousie and Sussex will also remain closed for some time yet, Kanellakos said.

“They’re still thinking one to two weeks is a reasonable timeframe for them to finish that work, barring any other things they discover,” he said.

After all the underground infrastructure is fixed, more concrete will be poured and then the roadway will be resurfaced.

The street closure has been a pain to many transit users and pedestrians this week, but most drivers should already be accustomed to avoiding the area.

Rideau between Sussex and Dalhousie was closed to most vehicle traffic last August as part of LRT construction, while one lane in each direction was restricted to OC Transpo and STO buses, taxis, delivery vehicles and LRT construction vehicles.

City officials did not hold a media briefing on Friday, as they had on Wednesday and Thursday, but reiterated several key pieces of information heading into the weekend.

• Road closures and transit detours remain in place while crews repair the damage and restore services
• Sidewalks on the north side of Rideau between the Tim Hortons and Dalhousie streets and on the south side of Rideau between Nicholas Avenue and Dalhousie have re-opened, facilitating the reopening of businesses in those areas
• Additional signs and digital boards have been put up to help the public navigate around the site
• Water service has been fully reinstated to most buildings in the area and Ottawa Public Health’s precautionary boil-water advisory only remains in place for some businesses (it was lifted for the Rideau Centre food court)

[email protected]
twitter.com/mpearson78

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...visit-tunnel-while-workers-fix-utilities

[lrt's friend]

All that water and washed out earth had to go somewhere. We are very lucky this wasn't a tragedy.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

All that water and washed out earth had to go somewhere. We are very lucky this wasn't a tragedy.

Yes, I'm surprised in this day in age that this still happened though.

[rocketphish]

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...ay-reopens-road-closures-still-in-effect

[rocketphish]

Ottawa Sinkhole, Day 6: Hole 'stabilized' after weekend concrete work

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: June 13, 2016 | Last Updated: June 13, 2016 12:43 PM EDT



The massive sinkhole on Rideau Street has been “stabilized” now that the first phase concrete work is finished, the city manager reported Monday.

Steve Kanellakos provided a written update to council, saying workers continue removing water from the LRT tunnel and fixing the infrastructure. Workers built a ramp to access the sinkhole.

Rideau and Sussex Drive are still closed in the area of the intersection. The city opened portions of Colonel By Drive Friday night so people can access the Westin Hotel and the ByWard Market.

The sinkhole, which swallowed a huge chunk of Rideau Street last Wednesday, is just east of Sussex. It’s about five metres deep. A van and a piece of LRT machinery fell into the hole and were cemented over during the patchwork.

The water in the tunnel isn’t deep – maybe enough to slosh around. The Rideau Transit Group, which is the city’s LRT contractor, doesn’t think it’ll hamper the construction schedule for the $2.1-billion transit project. RTG is also taking the lead on fixing the road, but the city doesn’t know yet if the sinkhole was caused by LRT work.

Utility service, either full or partial, has been restored to 75 per cent of the Rideau businesses which were affected by the outage, Kanellakos says.

Part of the work involves disinfecting the watermain east of the sinkhole so drinking water can be restored to some buildings. Ottawa Public Health still has a precautionary boil water advisory in place for those properties.

The city last week projected it would take 1-2 weeks to reopen the road.

[email protected]
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...e-stabilized-after-weekend-concrete-work