[St. John's] Transport development (Highways, Airport, and Public Transit)

[rthomasd]

4.2 KM , not including ramps and the 1.5 KM collector Rd ( Brier Ave ) , work started in November 2010

[statbass]

Originally Posted by rthomasd

4.2 KM , not including ramps and the 1.5 KM collector Rd ( Brier Ave ) , work started in November 2010

Well, when you put it that way it ... Holy Cow! 4.2 km of road in 8 years! Yikes! But to be completely fair, the bulk of the work was completed in the last, say, three or four years??? That sound about right?

[rthomasd]

The work has been sporadic. In the first year, the route was cleared of trees and the roadbed was pretty much done. Some years there was very little work done, Some years saw only a single overpass done. In 2017 for example, I believe the only work done was some new drainage and laying the electrical cables for the lighting. Some of the overpasses took a full year to do

[Marty_Mcfly]

It could have taken a lot less time, yeah. I don't think it was priority #1, 2, or 3 for the government/city for quite some time.

[jjavman]

Originally Posted by statbass

Well, when you put it that way it ... Holy Cow! 4.2 km of road in 8 years! Yikes! But to be completely fair, the bulk of the work was completed in the last, say, three or four years??? That sound about right?

Any guesses how many years to Howlett?
I'm saying at least 3. Most likely 4.

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by jjavman

Any guesses how many years to Howlett?
I'm saying at least 3. Most likely 4.

I'd say longer. I don't think they even have all the land expropriated yet.

[rthomasd]

As we near the end of the construction season, they've paved the Redmonds Rd, the ramps to TGH at Redmonds and the Empire Ave lanes, so the roundabout seems finished now that they've added more direction and Yield signs - roundabout traffic has to yield to the TGH ramp lane. They haven't painted the Redmonds TGH ramps yet, too wet.

They've started work at the top of Capt Whelan to make the Blackmarsh Rd redirect.

I'd like to see some shoulder work on all these new paved areas. Also some guardrails wouldn't go astray.

Too wet the past few days to get any pictures.

[statbass]

Originally Posted by rthomasd

As we near the end of the construction season, they've paved the Redmonds Rd, the ramps to TGH at Redmonds and the Empire Ave lanes, so the roundabout seems finished now that they've added more direction and Yield signs - roundabout traffic has to yield to the TGH ramp lane. They haven't painted the Redmonds TGH ramps yet, too wet.

They've started work at the top of Capt Whelan to make the Blackmarsh Rd redirect.

I'd like to see some shoulder work on all these new paved areas. Also some guardrails wouldn't go astray.

Too wet the past few days to get any pictures.

Thanks for the update!

[613_YYT]

Cookstown/Freshwater/Pennywell intersection has been spray painted in preparation for the installation of a roundabout.

This should really help the flow of cars and make it nicer for people. The area is a void right now.

[613_YYT]

Originally Posted by 613_YYT

Cookstown/Freshwater/Pennywell intersection has been spray painted in preparation for the installation of a roundabout.

This should really help the flow of cars and make it nicer for people. The area is a void right now.

And link to the plan:
http://www.stjohns.ca/living-st-john...pilot-projects

I hope they decrease the circle size and make a new plaza-like area at sidewalk of Cookstown/Freshwater. That could be used as a parkette or patio space for a restaurant (assuming Leo's gets an reno or is replaced).

[ConundrumNL]

Originally Posted by 613_YYT

And link to the plan:
http://www.stjohns.ca/living-st-john...pilot-projects

I hope they decrease the circle size and make a new plaza-like area at sidewalk of Cookstown/Freshwater. That could be used as a parkette or patio space for a restaurant (assuming Leo's gets an reno or is replaced).

Looking forward to this change. I go through there every morning, and you always have to be cautious of people running the stop off Freshwater.

I'm also a fan of the Rawlins Crossing (or I guess Circle now?) change as a concept, but I think the Pilot was implemented wrong.

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by ConundrumNL

Looking forward to this change. I go through there every morning, and you always have to be cautious of people running the stop off Freshwater.

I'm also a fan of the Rawlins Crossing (or I guess Circle now?) change as a concept, but I think the Pilot was implemented wrong.

I'm a fan of Rawlin's Circle too. Been through it countless times now and it's always a good traffic flow, never see traffic backed up. The only thing I don't like is the all the crosswalks, especially the ones right through the middle. Anyways, I think it is still in Pilot phase so I'm sure it will be changed if they go permanent.

Another change I think the City should look at is the intersection of Prince of Wales/Pennywell and Adams Ave. Prince of Wales and Adams should be more continuous without having to make that weird little turn. A signalized intersection could work, they would probably have to take some of Tulks parking lot to make a roundabout.

[ConundrumNL]

Originally Posted by J_Murphy

I'm a fan of Rawlin's Circle too. Been through it countless times now and it's always a good traffic flow, never see traffic backed up. The only thing I don't like is the all the crosswalks, especially the ones right through the middle. Anyways, I think it is still in Pilot phase so I'm sure it will be changed if they go permanent.

Another change I think the City should look at is the intersection of Prince of Wales/Pennywell and Adams Ave. Prince of Wales and Adams should be more continuous without having to make that weird little turn. A signalized intersection could work, they would probably have to take some of Tulks parking lot to make a roundabout.

The crosswalks are my main issue with Rawlins Circle, the ones within the circle should have been painted over. It's safety thing for pedestrians and drivers

[jjavman]

Originally Posted by ConundrumNL

The crosswalks are my main issue with Rawlins Circle, the ones within the circle should have been painted over. It's safety thing for pedestrians and drivers

I agree.
The ones slated for the Allandale/Prince Philip roundabout concern me more due to speed difference.

The city nixed the idea of crosswalk underpasses, which will put multiple surface walks around a higher speed, double lane roundabout.
Throw heavy weather into the mix and the risk increases even more.

[Marty_Mcfly]

VOCM reporter had an escorted drive through Team Gushue this morning. The workers with him said the highway will be open in 2-3 weeks.

[goodgrowth]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

VOCM reporter had an escorted drive through Team Gushue this morning. The workers with him said the highway will be open in 2-3 weeks.

Sounds good. I think this road would have been helpful during this past Thursday evening rush hour...holy shit what a clusterfuck that was.

[Offshore1]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

Sounds good. I think this road would have been helpful during this past Thursday evening rush hour...holy shit what a clusterfuck that was.

It should definitely help to ease - not cure - the nightmare that it is getting around the city.
I passed along Old Pennywell Rd a couple of days ago and work was ongoing to tie it into the collector road.
There shouldn't be too many loose ends to tie up if it's gonna open in the 2-3 weeks as planned.

[rthomasd]

Given the wet weather we've had the past few weeks, they've managed to make some progress on the last few remaining items. They still have to paint the Redmonds Rd ramps and the overpass. They've paved the collector rd ( Brier Ave ) to within 10 metres of the Old Pennywell Rd connection and painted to within 50 metres or so. Some of the shoulders need to be filled.

The last big item left, I think, is the Old Pennywell / Brier Ave connection. It's quite rough going through there. They've been using a concrete forming machine for the curb the past few days, they now have to finish the last few metres of the curb manually. With a few good days this week, they should be able to finish the curb and then they can finish the paving. After that they can schedule an opening, ribbon cutting, etc.

Fingers crossed for no snow in the next two weeks !

[statbass]

Here's a story regarding the opening of the Team Gushue extension. Looks like they're aiming for a mid to late November opening.

VOCM
Oct 29, 2018

It’s being called a “game changer” for the Northeast Avalon. The long-awaited Team Gushue Extension is just weeks away from finally being opened to traffic.

The Minister of Transportation and Works, Steve Crocker, says the extension is very close to completion, and they’re hoping to celebrate the official opening in mid to late November.

Crocker says there is still some touch-up work that needs to be completed.

He says it looks finished, but there are a lot of smaller pieces they have to work in like the realignment of intersections. However, they are getting to where they need to be to have the extension open to the public this fall.

...

http://vocm.com/news/team-gushue-ext...valon-traffic/

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by rthomasd

Given the wet weather we've had the past few weeks, they've managed to make some progress on the last few remaining items. They still have to paint the Redmonds Rd ramps and the overpass. They've paved the collector rd ( Brier Ave ) to within 10 metres of the Old Pennywell Rd connection and painted to within 50 metres or so. Some of the shoulders need to be filled.

The last big item left, I think, is the Old Pennywell / Brier Ave connection. It's quite rough going through there. They've been using a concrete forming machine for the curb the past few days, they now have to finish the last few metres of the curb manually. With a few good days this week, they should be able to finish the curb and then they can finish the paving. After that they can schedule an opening, ribbon cutting, etc.

Fingers crossed for no snow in the next two weeks !

Any idea how the connection with Old Pennywell Road will look?