Confederation Line (Stage 1) | In Service 1.0

[rocketphish]

Construction Update
Week of October 31

With removals completed, crews begin to work on the foundation at Tunney’s Pasture Station. Construction of the guideway continues along various sections of the alignment. In the east, trackwork is installed in sections from just east of Lees Station to the Hurdman Station elevated guideway.

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Crews install duct banks at Bayview Station

West Stations

Tunney’s Pasture Station: Preliminary station work continues with caisson and rebar installation. Electrical work also occurs.

Bayview Station: Initial foundation work is ongoing; crews install duct banks and begin mechanical and electrical work. Ground improvement activities also occur.

Pimisi Station: Crews waterproof the lower concourse walls in preparation for the next phase of concrete works. Backfilling, mechanical and electrical work are ongoing.

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Waterproofing just east of Parliament Station cavern

Central Stations

Lyon Station cavern: Crews complete formwork and concrete pours, and architectural work begins including construction of the stairs and sub-platform. Station arch and shotcrete final lining are finalized.

Lyon Station west entrance: Crews install rebar and formwork in preparation for pouring station columns. Rock removals also occur.

Lyon Station east entrance: Crews install rebar in anticipation of pouring concrete walls.

Parliament Station cavern: Station L-wall work is ongoing; activities include formwork installation and concrete pours. Crews waterproof the station arch and mechanical and electrical work occurs.

Parliament Station west entrance: Crews finalize work on the parapet wall and begin installing the roof of the head house. At the east vent shaft, crews continue hoe ramming and rock removals during the weekend.

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

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Formwork and slab work at uOttawa Station

Rideau Station cavern: Crews waterproof, install rebar and pour concrete as part of final work on the station invert. Electrical and mechanical work continues along with waterproofing of the station arch.

Rideau Station west entrance: With the roof slab poured, crews prepare for the next phase of works. Preliminary excavation work begins at the HVAC shaft.

Rideau Station east entrance: Concrete work continues at the station entrance; crews pour the elevator walls.

Rideau Street is closed 24/7 to vehicular traffic to permit works to advance.

uOttawa Station: Work on the platform slab continues; activities include formwork, rebar installation and concrete pours. Duct bank installation also occurs.

East Portal: Crews pour the mud slab, continue sheet piling and install reinforcements including whaler beams. Excavation of the ramp and duct bank installation are ongoing.

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Progress at St-Laurent Station

East Stations

Lees Station: With the raft slab poured, crews begin work on the platform knee walls including rebar installation and concrete pours.

Hurdman Station: Crews install structural steel and pour concrete for the ancillary building. At the bus operator’s building, exterior finishes and electrical work are ongoing.

Tremblay Station: Crews backfill the platform area and install the roof metal deck. Mechanical and electrical work also occur.

St-Laurent Station: The station continues to take shape; activities include structural steel installation and preliminary work on the station elevators and escalators.

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Crews install steel and railbeds at Cyrville Station

Cyrville Station: Crews work on the station roof and elevators, and install structural framing for exterior wall panels. Mechanical and electrical work also takes place.

Blair Station: Station construction continues to advance; crews work on escalators, install exterior wall panels and mechanical and electrical work occur. Crews also install rebar and formwork for the bus operators’ building.

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Installing reinforcements in the running tunnel

Tunnel Excavation and Support

Excavation of the final section of running tunnel continues and crews install reinforcements.

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Systems installation west of Cyrville Station

Guideway

Tunney’s Pasture Station to West Portal: Backfilling and ballast installation are ongoing as crews construct the guideway. Between Pimisi Station and West Portal, crews continue grading and installing duct banks.

Mann Avenue Bridge to west of Tremblay Station: Crews construct the retaining wall between Lees Station and the Rideau River Transitway Bridge.

Trackwork activities are ongoing between Lees and Tremblay stations including pulling rail and ballast installation. Crews install fencing and duct banks as part of guideway construction.

West of Cyrville Station: Crews continue systems installation in preparation for vehicle testing.

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Work on the transition slab at the Bayview Bridge

Other Activities

Bayview Bridge: Reconstruction of the Bayview Bridge is ongoing; crews work on the transition slab.

Mann Avenue Bridge: Crews continue reconstruction of the bridge; activities include formwork and rebar installation in anticipation of concrete pours. Intermittent sidewalk closures may be required during this work.

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Upcoming Construction Activities

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

• Installation of traction power sub station on the guideway near Tunney’s Pasture Station and elsewhere along the alignment.
• Lyon Station HVAC and west vent shaft work resumes.
• Structural steel installation at uOttawa Station.
• Vehicle testing and Overhead Catenary System will be energized in phases along the guideway between Belfast Yard and Blair Station.

http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/construction/construction-update-97/

[swimmer_spe]

Part of me wonders if they had left the transitways alone and built this line separate if it would have made Ottawa's Transit better?

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Part of me wonders if they had left the transitways alone and built this line separate if it would have made Ottawa's Transit better?

Separate where?

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Separate where?

Underground.
For example, build a second level to all Transitways. Buses on top train below.

Or, plan out a route for the LRT ignoring the Transitways, but looking at where the stations really should be.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Underground.
For example, build a second level to all Transitways. Buses on top train below.

That would have made the system significantly more expensive.

Or, plan out a route for the LRT ignoring the Transitways, but looking at where the stations really should be.

There certainly is an argument for this, especially in the east end, but once again it would have significantly increased the cost. We would probably have ended up with a line from the Montreal Rd at the Vanier Parkway to somewhere near Bayview Station.

[AndyMEng]

Originally Posted by roger1818

That would have made the system significantly more expensive.



There certainly is an argument for this, especially in the east end, but once again it would have significantly increased the cost. We would probably have ended up with a line from the Montreal Rd at the Vanier Parkway to somewhere near Bayview Station.

I'm pretty sure this was studied until each and every one of the cows came home. I can't point to it, but I remember seeing realigned rail on map...

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by roger1818

There certainly is an argument for this, especially in the east end, but once again it would have significantly increased the cost. We would probably have ended up with a line from the Montreal Rd at the Vanier Parkway to somewhere near Bayview Station.

And at the savings of cost, but cost in terms of city-building, of ensuring that near-eastern urban neighbourhoods will not have direct access to any kind of transit other than buses for the rest of this century and well into next.

I really wish the politicians, planners, and bureaucrats at City Hall would start using transit on the east side. But they do not care.

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

And at the savings of cost, but cost in terms of city-building, of ensuring that near-eastern urban neighbourhoods will not have direct access to any kind of transit other than buses for the rest of this century and well into next.

I really wish the politicians, planners, and bureaucrats at City Hall would start using transit on the east side. But they do not care.

They could have at least future-proofed the system by adding a stub tunnel where the curve is at Rideau station, allowing a future tunnel to continue under Rideau St and into Vanier (assuming a branching service).

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

They could have at least future-proofed the system by adding a stub tunnel where the curve is at Rideau station, allowing a future tunnel to continue under Rideau St and into Vanier (assuming a branching service).

Not sure a downtown branch would be a good idea. It would reduce the maximum capacity east of the branch by 50%. A better option would be to have it continue on in a different direction as a separate line (either south towards Landsdown or north to Hull).

[kmcamp]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Not sure a downtown branch would be a good idea. It would reduce the maximum capacity east of the branch by 50%. A better option would be to have it continue on in a different direction as a separate line (either south towards Landsdown or north to Hull).

True, but an alternative (that many European systems do when they get built) would have to have roughed in a cross-platform interchange. Vanier and points east seem like a logical choice for some sort of rail service in the future as we get bigger and denser, and under Rideau would be the logical route, making Rideau station the natural transfer point between lines. The future proofing would be far cheaper then having to reconstruct the station later, or building a second station on the new line at a different depth. Probably beyond the 20 year planning horizon though.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

They could have at least future-proofed the system by adding a stub tunnel where the curve is at Rideau station, allowing a future tunnel to continue under Rideau St and into Vanier (assuming a branching service).

Pffft... "future"... ain't nobody got time for that.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Not sure a downtown branch would be a good idea. It would reduce the maximum capacity east of the branch by 50%. A better option would be to have it continue on in a different direction as a separate line (either south towards Landsdown or north to Hull).

From the east, I'd have it go under Daly or even Laurier before turning to... somewhere else.

Not that it matters, since there won't be another fixed transit line anywhere in the core in the next hundred years. LRT, and even BRT, is for the suburbs. Enjoy your buses, downtown peasants, and keep sending your tax dollars to Orleans and Nepean.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

True, but an alternative (that many European systems do when they get built) would have to have roughed in a cross-platform interchange. Vanier and points east seem like a logical choice for some sort of rail service in the future as we get bigger and denser, and under Rideau would be the logical route, making Rideau station the natural transfer point between lines. The future proofing would be far cheaper then having to reconstruct the station later, or building a second station on the new line at a different depth. Probably beyond the 20 year planning horizon though.

Beyond the century planning horizon.

The City of Ottawa does not care about the City of Ottawa. OC Transpo does not care about people who live and work in the core. The entirety of transit planning and development beyond what's currently being built or engineered, will be in the suburbs. There will be no more lines built in the core before this century is out. Central residents will be riding buses, and crappy buses, for a very long time, even as their higher taxes subsidize further extensions to low-density suburbs.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by kmcamp

Probably beyond the 20 year planning horizon though.

Correct. It isn't even in the TMP. It has the route listed as a "Transit Priority Corridor (Continuous Lanes)" from the Rideau Centre to Blair Rd (and then to the Blair Station) in both the 2031 Affordable Network and the Ultimate Network.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Correct. It isn't even in the TMP. It has the route listed as a "Transit Priority Corridor (Continuous Lanes)" from the Rideau Centre to Blair Rd (and then to the Blair Station) in both the 2031 Affordable Network and the Ultimate Network.

And it's also on the post-2018 plan for more route truncation and crappy connections to other bus routes and to the LRT system.

The antipathy of city hall and OC Transpo to people who live in the core areas, especially east of the canal, is boundless. Just witness the recent, weeks-long, and utterly unnecessary kerfuffle over the temporary, messy detours on routes that used to take Rideau Street. It was bungled from the start, poorly communicated, and when customers started to complain and suggest alternative, OC Transpo and Councillor Useless retreated into the same, defensive, lah-lah-lah-thumbs-in-ears-can't-hear-you posture that they always do.

Then, three weeks later, they make many of the same changes that the public suggested on Day One - as if it was their own idea.

They are tone-deaf, stubborn, and incapable of putting themselves in the head space of people who actually use transit.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Then, three weeks later, they make many of the same changes that the public suggested on Day One - as if it was their own idea.

Looking on the bright side, at least eventually the public got what they wanted.

[lrt's friend]

Be a good little boy and accept that buses are to take you to the Confederation Line and not to your destination. This is the new world according to the City of Ottawa starting in 2018. Our transit world will revolve around the Confederation Line, whether you live in Vanier or Barrhaven or Kanata. All our transit needs will be addressed by Confederation Line ............. until it fails. There will be little need for alternatives according to the "experts" and none offered. They know better than those who use the system every day. Have we not learned?

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Looking on the bright side, at least eventually the public got what they wanted.

But it shouldn't take such public explosions. An open, accountable, and responsive transit agency wouldn't foist such changes on its public then passively-aggressively dig in its heels, esp. not against its most transit-dependent customers.

But this is what OC Transpo does, over and over and over and over and over again. (Cf. the modifications only now being made to Temporary Baseline.)

Listen to your damn riders for once, Transpo.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

All our transit needs will be addressed by Confederation Line ............. until it fails.

So... Wednesday on Week I?

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

So... Wednesday on Week I?

They will test the trains for almost 18 months. Seems pretty unlikely they will break down the first week of operation (particularly since it is a spring opening).