Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Streetcar passengers AND motorists are inconvenienced when streetcars run in mixed traffic. Don't believe this, look at King or Queen at rush hour. And if there is a breakdown or accident, it gets worse.

Grade separated, even if it looks like Spadina would be my only suggestion.

And yet i'll still take a mixed-traffic streetcar, a vehicle that an operator can't nauseatingly swerve and break-stomp, on a fixed route that can't be changed by whim of a local politician or in response to pressure from business associations, NIMBY committees, or other anti-urban turds, over a mainline city bus route, ANY day.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

And yet i'll still take a mixed-traffic streetcar, a vehicle that an operator can't nauseatingly swerve and break-stomp, on a fixed route that can't be changed by whim of a local politician or in response to pressure from business associations, NIMBY committees, or other anti-urban turds, over a mainline city bus route, ANY day.

Yeah, instead it's all or nothing and those various groups instead cause the whole line to be dug up, rather than a slightly inconvenient rerouting that still serves people.

Oh, and the added bonus of being totally blocked by construction/road work, accidents, fires, etc. Buses and their ability to adapt. Snap, don't bend!

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Yeah, instead it's all or nothing and those various groups instead cause the whole line to be dug up, rather than a slightly inconvenient rerouting that still serves people.

Oh, and the added bonus of being totally blocked by construction/road work, accidents, fires, etc. Buses and their ability to adapt. Snap, don't bend!

The ability of buses to adapt is a mixed blessing at best. It provides for an inferior ride, and minimizes the ability of transit to shape a city.

I'll take fixed transit on rails over adaptable rubber tires, any day.

[rocketphish]

Construction Update
Week of July 18

---

Caisson installation at Bayview Station

This week, structural steel installation has begun at the Parliament Station west entrance, while in the east at Cyrville Station, visible progress is made with crews installing the station’s roof.

---

Ramp renewal work at West Portal

West Stations

Tunney’s Pasture Station: final works are completed for the Tunney’s Pasture Station temporary bus loop.

Bayview Station: Crews drill and pour caissons. During lifting operations currently underway, and for the safety of all Bayview pathway users, short-term closures and realignments of the multi-use pathway are required. Flaggers are onsite to assist users.

Pimisi Station: crews install caissons, excavate for station footings and mobilize to begin concrete work.

---

Waterproofing the L-walls in Parliament Station cavern

Central Stations

Lyon Station cavern: Crews install formwork, rebar and pour concrete for concourse level. Arch final lining pours also occur.

At the West Portal, crews prepare for the arrival of the roadheader, Crocodile Rouge.

Lyon Station west entrance: crews mobilize to waterproof and install rebar.

Lyon Station east entrance: crews install rebar for the station elevators and pour the concourse slab. On the ground floor, final removals take place and demolition crews demobilize.

Parliament Station cavern: crews waterproof and install formwork and rebar for the station L-walls.

Parliament Station west entrance: crews install formwork, rebar and pour the concrete slab. Structural steel installation begins for the station head house, a free-standing entrance that leads to the concourse and platform. At street level, crews excavate and install reinforcements, and excavate the east tunnel ventilation shaft.

Parliament Station east entrance: the station walls begin to take shape as crews install rebar and pour concrete. Structural steel is installed on the concourse level. At street level, crews excavate and install reinforcements.

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

---

Waterproofing Rideau Station cavern

Rideau Station cavern: Waterproofing, rebar installation and concrete pours for the invert are taking place At the transition east of the cavern, crews install rebar and electrical works.

At the East Portal ramp, piling activities are ongoing during the day and overnight.

Rideau Station west entrance: crews waterproof and install rebar and formwork. In preparation for final excavation, crews install reinforcements including shotcrete and spiles.

Rideau Station east entrance: the station entrance continues to take shape with crews waterproofing and installing rebar for the station walls in preparation for the next phase of concrete pours.

Traffic restrictions on Rideau Street remain in effect.

uOttawa Station: crews install rebar and pour concrete for the station elevators.

---

Masonry work at St-Laurent Station

East Stations

Lees Station: crews install caissons as part of station foundation work.

Transitway pedestrian access from Lees to uOttawa stations remain closed.

Hurdman Station: crews install grade beams and pier caps. At the bus operator’s building, crews install structural steel and masonry.

Tremblay Station: crews pour the station footings, columns and concourse slab.

St-Laurent Station: excavation, masonry installation and grading work are all taking place.

---

Formwork and rebar on the Cyrville Station concourse level

Cyrville Station: at the station concourse level, crews install rebar and pour concrete. Crews install structural steel and complete the metal roof deck.

Blair Station: crews install structural steel and pour the station platform. Crews pour concrete duct banks.
Tunnel Excavation and Support

Running tunnel east of Parliament: mining of the running tunnel bench is ongoing.

---

Sewer work on the guideway west of Lees Station

Guideway Construction – Bayview CPR Bridge to West Portal, Mann Avenue Bridge to west of Lees Station, Rideau River Transitway Bridge to east of Hurdman Station and west of Tremblay Station to Blair Station.

Bayview CPR Bridge to West Portal: crews install granular, and begin fence installation, grading and preliminary excavation.

Mann Avenue Bridge to west of Lees Station: crews continue sewer work on this section of the guideway

Rideau River Transitway Bridge to east of Hurdman Station: backfilling, material removals and overnight/daytime construction of the retaining wall and embankment are taking place..

Hurdman Station Elevated Guideway: Crews strip the soffit, the underside of the elevated guideway.

West of Tremblay Station to Blair Station:. Final trackwork is ongoing between St-Laurent and Blair stations including distressing of rail.

---

Work on the approach slabs at the Booth Street Bridge

Other Activities

CPR Bridge near Bayview Station: crews drill caissons and install formwork for the bridge columns. During lifting operations currently underway, and for the safety of all Bayview pathway users, short-term closures and realignments of the multi-use pathway are required.

Booth Street Bridge: the bridge continues to progress; crews install the overlay and pour concrete for the sidewalks. Utility installations continue in preparation for the reinstatement of Booth Street as early as September.

---

Upcoming Construction Activities

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

• Tunney’s Pasture Station construction.
• Bayview Station construction and short-term pathway realignments.
• Blasting at Parliament Station east entrance.
• Final concrete work in Lyon and Parliament station caverns.
• Mann Avenue Bridge rehabilitation.
• Deck work at Tremblay Station.
• Watermain work near St-Laurent Station, along the guideway.
• TPSS deliveries along the alignment.
• Bus operators’ building construction and catch basin/landscaping work at Blair Station.
• Block wall construction at Blair Station.

http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/construction/construction-update-82/

[capital_urbanite]

This article was posted in the "cycling in Ottawa" forum. Something doesn't make sense? Isn't the POP area on the West side of the Trillium line, with the MUP running parallel to the line on the East? Has this design changed?

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...-to-make-a-mess-of-the-o-train-bike-path

[rocketphish]

Construction Update
Week of July 25

This week, crews install the overlay and utilities at the Booth Street Bridge in anticipation of it reopening as early as September. In the east, crews continue their work on the guideway between St-Laurent and Blair stations in preparation for vehicle testing as early as this fall.

---

Caisson installation at Pimisi Station

West Stations

Bayview Station: Crews drill and pour caissons and begin ground improvement activities.

Pimisi Station: Crews continue installing caissons and beams, and finalize excavation for station footings. Installation of duct banks begins, part of station utility work.

---

Rebar Installation at Lyon Station east entrance

Central Stations

Lyon Station cavern: Crews install rebar and pour concrete as part of work on the station concourse level. Arch final lining pours are ongoing. At West Portal, crews excavate and install reinforcements. Crocodile Rouge is assembled to begin the next phase of excavation work.

Lyon Station west entrance: Crews begin installing rebar and waterproofing. Mechanical installations also occur. Work on the future site of the station elevator is ongoing.

Lyon Station east entrance: Work on the station elevator and concourse level is ongoing; activities include rebar installation and concrete pours. Crews install dowels as part of reinforcement work.

---

Progress on concrete work in the tunnel between Central Shaft and Lyon Station cavern

Parliament Station cavern: Crews continue installing formwork and rebar as part of work on the station L-walls. Crews work on the concrete slab and pour the concrete invert from Central Shaft to Lyon Station. Mechanical and electrical works are ongoing.

Parliament Station west entrance: Crews continue installing structural steel for the station head house, a free-standing entrance that leads to the concourse and platform. At street level, excavation and reinforcements are ongoing. Work on the east vent shaft occurs and includes hoe ramming and line drilling.

Parliament Station east entrance: Crews continue working on the station walls with rebar and formwork installations and concrete pours. Crews install structural steel as part of column work. At street level, crews excavate and install reinforcements.

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

---

Progress on concrete work in the tunnel between Central Shaft and Lyon Station cavern

Rideau Station cavern: Crews continue waterproofing the station cavern and rebar and mechanical installations are ongoing. At the transition east of the cavern, crews waterproof, install rebar and pour concrete. At the East Portal ramp, crews continue working on the watermain and piling activities are ongoing during the day and overnight.

Rideau Station west entrance: Crews install rebar and pour the concrete slab. In preparation for the final phase of excavation, crews install reinforcements including spiles, whaler beams and shotcrete.

Rideau Station east entrance: Crews continue installing formwork and rebar in preparation for future concrete pours.

Traffic restrictions on Rideau Street remain in effect.

uOttawa Station: Foundation construction continues and includes waterproofing, rebar installation and slab on grade work. Duct bank installation is ongoing at the pedestrian tunnel.

---

Caisson Installation at Lees Station

East Stations

Lees Station: Station foundation work is ongoing as crews install caissons.

Hurdman Station: Crews continue constructing the station foundation; activities include grade beam and pier cap installation. At the bus operator’s building, crews continue electrical work, masonry and structural steel installations.

Tremblay Station: Crews continue to install formwork for the station concourse level and structural steel installation is ongoing. Work on the columns, masonry and electrical installations occur.

---

Structural steel installation at Blair Station

St-Laurent Station: Crews install masonry and grading work is ongoing. Trackwork activities continue in the station.

Cyrville Station: The station concourse level has been poured. Structural steel installation and work on the roof continues.

Blair Station: The station continues to progress as crews install structural steel and masonry, work on the roof and pour the station concourse.

---

Tunnel Excavation and Support

Running tunnel east of Parliament: Mining of the running tunnel bench is ongoing.

---

Grading work on the guideway between Bayview Station and Preston Street

Guideway – Bayview CPR Bridge to West Portal, Mann Avenue Bridge to west of Lees Station, Rideau River Transitway Bridge to east of Hurdman Station and west of Tremblay Station to Blair Station.

Bayview CPR Bridge to West Portal: crews prepare the guideway for trackwork; activities include installing granular and fencing as well as grading and excavation.

Mann Avenue Bridge to west of Lees Station: grading and sewer work continues in this section of the guideway. Crews mobilize to begin installing OCS foundations.

Rideau River Transitway Bridge to east of Hurdman Station: crews backfill, remove materials and build the retaining wall and embankment during the day as well as overnight.

West of Tremblay Station to Blair Station: crews continue pulling rail, ballast installation and tamping as part of trackwork. Final distressing and track alignments occur east of Tremblay Station to Blair Station. Crews prepare to begin systems work including installing communications in preparation for vehicle testing as early as this fall

---

Work on the approach slabs at the Booth Street Bridge

Other Activities

CPR Bridge near Bayview Station: crews mobilize to begin bridge reconstruction; initial activities include stripping the footings and drilling caissons. During lifting operations currently underway, and for the safety of all Bayview pathway users, short-term closures and realignments of the multi-use pathway are required. Flaggers are onsite to assist users.

Booth Street Bridge: crews continue installing the overlay on the Booth Street Bridge. Utility work is ongoing in preparation for the reinstatement of Booth Street as early as September.

---

Upcoming Construction Activities

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

• Demolition and removal of the existing structures at Tunney’s Pasture Station
• Blasting at Parliament Station east entrance.
• Mann Avenue Bridge rehabilitation.
• Deck work at Tremblay Station.
• Watermain work near St-Laurent Station, along the guideway.
• TPSS deliveries along the alignment.
• Bus operators’ building construction and catch basin/landscaping work at Blair Station.
• Block wall construction at Blair Station.

http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/construction/construction-update-83/

[kevinbottawa]

Tunneling under Rideau Street resumes this weekend.

https://www.google.ca/amp/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.3699883?client=ms-android-rogers-ca

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

Tunneling under Rideau Street resumes this weekend.

https://www.google.ca/amp/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.3699883?client=ms-android-rogers-ca

Interesting that, according to the following image from the above article, they hadn't reached the rock line yet. If true, that changes the theories about what could have happened.

[1overcosc]

50 metres.... means they'll break through in less than a month. Exciting!

[rocketphish]

LRT tunnel work under Rideau to resume next week

Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: July 29, 2016 | Last Updated: July 29, 2016 11:48 AM EDT

Tunnelling work for the Confederation LRT line is set to resume next week beneath Rideau Street, about eight weeks after a massive sinkhole swallowed three traffic lanes and a minivan.

There was only about 50 metres of tunnel left to excavate between the Rideau station cavern and Sussex Drive on the morning of June 8, when the road collapse caused work there to halt immediately.

Workers were in the tunnel at the time but were able to evacuate. No injuries were reported.

Since then, a broken water main and other utilities have been repaired, the hole was filled with concrete, the intersection of Rideau and Sussex reopened, and a massive amount of water was pumped out of the tunnel, which is located about two dozen metres below the site of the sinkhole.

Worker from Rideau Transit Group, builders of Ottawa’s light rail transit system, will get in there this weekend to prepare for the resumption of tunnelling early next week, said Steve Cripps, director of the city’s light rail implementation office.

In a memo to city council, he also outlined a number of safety precautions that will be in place. They include:

• The city, RTG and its tunnelling experts will be on-site, both above ground and within the tunnel, monitoring activities
• The tunnel will be mined in small bits at a time, in accordance with the sequential excavation method
• Additional supports including pipe roofing, lattice girders and face bolts will be installed to reinforce the tunnel, while systematic drainage and grouting (injection of concrete to reinforce the area) will deal address any loose or potentially unstable ground
• Monitoring of the ground and adjacent buildings will remain ongoing with increased monitoring of the newly-installed water mains to detect any settlement or leaks

Despite the pause in work, Cripps says the $2.1-billion Confederation LRT line project remains on schedule. It is to open in 2018.

After the collapse, RTG said water in the tunnel was as deep as about 2.5 metres. The tunnel is about five metres in diameter. The level decreased moving westward toward Elgin Street, around which the water was about five centimetres deep.

Cripps has said previously that a roadheader used to dig out the tunnel would have been at least partially submerged in water, but there’s been no update on whether that piece of equipment, owned by RTG, sustained serious damage. The roadheader is still in the tunnel and will be removed as tunnelling gets closer to it, Cripps said Friday in a written response to a question.

Meanwhile, documents obtained by Postmedia reveal the city spent close to $15,000 in the immediate aftermath of the sinkhole.

Installing temporary barricades, monitoring traffic and paying for labour, including overtime, cost the public works department $14,662.12 over a three-day period from June 8 to 10.

This is surely just a small fraction of the total sinkhole repair bill, as it does not include what RTG spent on pumping out water and filling the hole with hundreds of cubic metres of concrete.

[email protected]
twitter.com/mpearson78

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/lrt-tunnel-work-under-rideau-to-resume-next-week

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

Tunneling under Rideau Street resumes this weekend.

https://www.google.ca/amp/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.3699883?client=ms-android-rogers-ca

So the last 4 updates saying "Mining of the running tunnel bench is ongoing" has been a complete lie

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

The roadheader is still in the tunnel and will be removed as tunnelling gets closer to it, Cripps said Friday in a written response to a question.

I don't understand this. Was there a cave in (or partial cave in) which will require them to dig out the roadheader or do they just need to dig out the sediment that was washed into the tunnel with the flood?

[Richard Eade]

Technically, we did not have a ‘Sink-hole’; we had a ‘wash-out’. A wash-out is where the road’s underlying is removed by a flow of (usually) water. In a Sink-hole the underground void is caused by dissolving the rock, usually over a long period of time, while a ‘wash-out’ simply moves material with the force of the water. That moved material has to move somewhere other than where it is supposed to be; i.e., supporting the road surface.

So, let’s say that we have water saturated glacial till filling a valley in the bedrock. A tunnel is mined out of the bedrock, breaking through the rock’s face and into the till. At the tunnel face, there is no back-pressure so water and wet glacial till begin flowing into the tunnel. It starts slowly at first, because the break-through from the rock is not large, but it grows as a flow develops. This is likely where a lot of the underlying material for the road went. Once the road was no longer properly supported, the asphalt collapsed, breaking the water pipe. A lot more water followed the flow into the tunnel.

Remember, the tunnel is being mined in drifts. The upper level was being mined well ahead of the lower level being mined. So, one road header was mining the upper face and a second road header was several hundred metres behind, mining the bench. The road header at the face would have been covered with water and any till that entered the tunnel, while the one still back around Elgin would not have been affected much. Yes, even after all the water was removed, there is still a lot of muck to remove nearer the tunnel face.

I don’t think that the mechanics of the wash-out are a mystery, but why there was so much water in the glacial till is still being investigated.

[DEWLine]

The idea of streetcar lines in addition to buses and the O-Train network is attractive to some of us.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by DEWLine

The idea of streetcar lines in addition to buses and the O-Train network is attractive to some of us.

Only if the streetcars are run in a segregated lane, otherwise they are actually worse than buses. That was one of the rationale for getting rid of streetcars in the 50s. If an accident blocks the streetcar lane, then the system halts.

One of the challenges in Ottawa is that most of our commercial streets are only 4 lanes wide including the ones that would be most desirable for streetcar service. I am talking about Bank and Wellington/Richmond. Rideau is one exception but Montreal Road through Vanier is also only 4 lanes wide.

[1overcosc]

If we got rid of the on-street parking a streetcar ROW could easily fit on Rideau Street; however it would have trouble continuing onto Montreal.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Only if the streetcars are run in a segregated lane, otherwise they are actually worse than buses. That was one of the rationale for getting rid of streetcars in the 50s. If an accident blocks the streetcar lane, then the system halts.

One of the challenges in Ottawa is that most of our commercial streets are only 4 lanes wide including the ones that would be most desirable for streetcar service. I am talking about Bank and Wellington/Richmond. Rideau is one exception but Montreal Road through Vanier is also only 4 lanes wide.

Of course if you'd give buses segregated lanes the difference vs. streetcars once again isn't that big.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Of course if you'd give buses segregated lanes the difference vs. streetcars once again isn't that big.

Streetcars have a number of benefits over buses:
1) Smoother ride (generally an advantage of all trains over all motor vehicles)
2) Increased capacity
3) Electric, meaning quieter, cleaner, and faster acceleration (this will likely change in the coming decades as buses become electric too)
4) Being "fixed" infrastructure which means it can shape a city more

There's also the infamous "rail bias".

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Of course if you'd give buses segregated lanes the difference vs. streetcars once again isn't that big.

Then why not do that?

Oh, Ottawa has done that. They are called Transitways.

Now, Ottawa has shut down some of those bus lanes to build a LRT. For a few years, Transit sucks while the LRT is laid down. By going with Street Cars/LRT first, and bypassing the BRT, you prevent those growing pains.

The "big" part is the pain of switching when the time comes.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Only if the streetcars are run in a segregated lane, otherwise they are actually worse than buses.

No, they aren't. The benefits of streetcars outweigh their inability to periodically swerve out of the way of an obstacle.

That was one of the rationale for getting rid of streetcars in the 50s. If an accident blocks the streetcar lane, then the system halts.

Same is true, in Ottawa, of buses, so we would be no worse off with streetcars on our trunk downtown routes.

One of the challenges in Ottawa is that most of our commercial streets are only 4 lanes wide including the ones that would be most desirable for streetcar service. I am talking about Bank and Wellington/Richmond. Rideau is one exception but Montreal Road through Vanier is also only 4 lanes wide.

That's a feature, not a bug.

How is it streetcars and trams worked, and work, in hundreds of cities around the world - including, at one time, Ottawa - and yet they wouldn't work now? This is utter nonsense.

If inner neighbourhoods aren't allowed to have grade-separated mass transit, and aren't allowed to have better bus transit, to the extent that's possible with that antiquated technology, and aren't allowed to have local rail transit in the form of streetcars or trams.... then what, exactly, are inner neighbourhoods allowed to have?

What are we going to plan for these areas, mine included? Doing nothing, contrary to the belief of the idiots on city council, is not an option. Neither is reducing service standards by design, through chopping up crosstown locals and forcing more transfers under crappy conditions.

What options are left?

What are my tax dollars going towards, if not for improvements in my own community at some point? Right now we are getting screwed.