Highway 417 Widening

rocketphish · #1 Posted **Jun 27, 2013, 2:19 AM**

Night construction work approved for Highway 417 widening

Two-year noise exemption reduced to two months when planners can’t explain plan

By David Reevely, OTTAWA CITIZEN June 26, 2013

OTTAWA — In an effort to get Highway 417 in eastern Ottawa widened faster, city council suddenly voted Wednesday to let its construction contractor work on the project all night long for the whole summer, to the irritation of councillors representing nearby residents.

The original proposal, “walked on” to the floor of Wednesday’s city council meeting with no notice, was to exempt the Highway 417 widening from the city’s bylaw banning overnight construction noise until September 2015. City council has made a habit of approving such exemptions without telling anybody first, including for work at Lansdowne Park and at an Ashcroft Homes project on the site of a former convent on Richmond Road. The same contractor widening the 417, Rideau Transit Group, is also building the city’s new light-rail line and has a noise-bylaw exemption for tunnelling under downtown.

Cumberland Coun. Stephen Blais presented the motion as a way of reducing the traffic congestion the widening has imposed on commuters from Orléans.

RTG asked for the exemption and Wednesday’s meeting was the first chance to put it before city council, explained Gary Craig, who’s in charge of the rail project.

“We are in the prime construction season, as far as taking advantage of the construction season that is available to us,” he said, and waiting three weeks until the next meeting would chew up too much time. If some work gets done at night, it’ll all be over with sooner.

Relatively few people live close to the stretch of the 417 that is to be widened, between Nicholas Street and the split with Highway 174. But people do live there nonetheless, especially in high-rises on Lees Avenue and in Eastway Gardens near the train station.

“I appreciate that it has to happen, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired,” complained Alta Vista Coun. Peter Hume, who represents Eastway Gardens. Hume has just finished distributing information packages to residents about what the LRT construction will mean for them. The packages don’t mention this because nobody had told him about it. Those residents live in a noisy area already and night time is when they get some peace, Hume said. It’s not fair to tell them they could be dealing with round-the-clock construction noise for more than two years.

Capital Coun. David Chernushenko, who represents the Lees Avenue apartment blocks, agreed. People can adjust their lives somewhat to get away from a racket they know is coming, but a blanket exemption from the noise bylaw makes that impossible.

“They can’t do it for a whole summer, let alone two years,” Chernushenko said.

Craig promised that the plan is only to use the noise bylaw exemption in a limited way, but beyond a plan to install a storm sewer near the highway this summer, he couldn’t explain the details.

At Mayor Jim Watson’s suggestion, councillors approved a blanket exemption that lasts only until September, along with an instruction to Craig to come back before then with a more detailed construction schedule if he and Rideau Transit Group want the exemption extended.

dreevely@ottawacitizen.com

ottawacitizen.com/greaterottawa
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

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rocketphish · #2 Posted **Jun 27, 2013, 5:34 PM**

I realize that this has been posted elsewhere, but since we now have a dedicated thread for this, I'll post it again.

Ottawa Queensway Preliminary Design and Environmental Assessment Study:
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/engineering/417ea/

Highway 417 Expansion West:
http://www.highway417expansion.com/h...n/eng/home.asp

Highway 417 Expansion East:
http://queenswayexpansioneast.com/home/

Highway 417 Bridge Replacement:
http://www.417queenswaybridges.ca/41...ng/index.shtml

Marcus CLS · #3 Posted **Jun 28, 2013, 2:39 AM**

As much as I might sympathise with the people who object to the exemption to night construction I grew up in Toronto in the 60's to 80's at 401, Dixon, Martingrove, 427 area. The 401 went from 4 lanes to eight, Dixon went from 4 to 6 and Martin Grove went from a 2 lane TWP. side road to 4 lanes. To top it off a east- west runway to Malton Airport just north of the 401 went from Viacount propellor planes to 747 jets et al. for Pearson international.

I still remember pile drivers etc.. going on for 5 years plus and the transitions of viacount propellors to 747 jets. 's. DC9's taking off rattled the windows of our family home so much that family conversations had to stop and wait for the jets to go by.

When my parents bought in 1958 I do not think this was in their plan. It just happened.

So the sooner it (417) gets completed the better or it will drag out forever. Been there done that get over it because Ottawa_Gatineau is No. 4 CMA in the country and having growing pains. Sorry, just had to be said. People who might complain about this do not have a clue about T.O., VAN. or MONT.

rocketphish · #4 Posted **Jul 5, 2013, 1:22 AM**

Roads close this weekend for Highway 417 bridge replacement

By Gemma Karstens-Smith, Ottawa Citizen July 4, 2013 7:06 PM

OTTAWA — Ottawa drivers will face yet another commuting challenge this weekend with Highway 417 lane closures Saturday and Sunday as the bridges over Kirkwood Avenue are replaced.

The highway’s eastbound Parkdale and westbound Maitland on-ramps will be closed from 6 p.m. Saturday until 11 a.m. Sunday.

The 417 east- and westbound will close completely, and drivers will be directed to the Carling Avenue exits and on-ramps as a detour around the construction.

An alternative detour will be in place along Parkdale, Carling, Kirkwood and Maitland Avenues, and Merivale and Baseline Roads.

Kirkwood Avenue will also be closed between Carling Avenue westbound and Carling Avenue eastbound from 4 p.m. Saturday until 12 p.m. Sunday.

A detour will be set up along Carling and Kirkwood avenues, and Merivale Road.

Signs will be posted to remind drivers of the closures.

Crews have been building the new bridges at sites near the highway for months. Starting Saturday, heavy lifters called self-propelled modular transporters will be used to complete the swap.

“They’ll be lifting the old one out of place and putting the new one in,” explained Brandy Duhaime, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Transportation Ontario.

The self-propelled modular transporters are massive platform vehicles with wheels computer-controlled to help distribute weight evenly and steer accurately. The heavy-duty machines are used to transport everything from offshore platforms to oil-field equipment.

The entire process of replacing the bridges will happen overnight Saturday, with crews aiming to get the job done in 17 hours, Duhaime said.

Road closures will also be in effect the weekend of July 13 and 14, when the bridges over Carling Avenue are replaced.

The overpass project will be completed on time and on budget, the City of Ottawa said in a release Wednesday.

gkarstenssmith@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/gkarstenssmith
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

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1overcosc · #5 Posted **Jul 5, 2013, 9:02 PM**

I was driving from downtown to visit a friend in Embrun last night around midnight. Looking over the median to the westbound lanes there was a bunch of crews working on the shoulder around St. Laurent. I also saw crews working at Hunt Club, and there were workers between Anderson and Boundary--the left lane was closed through that whole section.

In short: lots of night work going on!

eternallyme · #6 Posted **Jul 5, 2013, 9:27 PM**

I believe there are three closures this year - one more for each of the two Carling bridges later?

Remaining bridges under 417 in central Ottawa and the likely building sites for the replacement bridges:

* Holland - Fisher Park probably
* Parkdale - Reid Park perhaps?
* Fairmont - Fairmont Park probably
* Bayswater - Heritage Academy, possibly the parking lot
* O-Train
* Preston
* Rochester
* Booth - all four would likely use a parking lot for a nearby building, perhaps a government building
* Bronson - open land at 640 Bronson perhaps?
* Percy - open space north side of Chamberlain perhaps?
* Kent
* Bank - both would likely use the open space north side of Chamberlain in between
* O'Connor
* Metcalfe
* Elgin - all three would likely use the open spaces either north side of Isabella or south side of Catherine
* Canal/Queen Elizabeth/Colonel By - a tricky one due to spanning parkways and heritage corridor! Likely would require a multi-stage restoration
* Main - open space north side of Hawthorne likely

NOWINYOW · #7 Posted **Jul 5, 2013, 10:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

In short: lots of night work going on!

Certainly a lot cooler for those working outside. I'm encouraged to hear work is progressing at Hunt Club. ( I assume you refer to the new interchange?)

NOWINYOW · #8 Posted **Jul 5, 2013, 10:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by eternallyme

I believe there are three closures this year - one more for each of the two Carling bridges later?

It's certainly a lot less disruptive performing the work on these bridges in this manner. As for cost, I wonder if it would be about the same than the previous method?

The city (or contractor) had set up live streaming web cams for the previous installs.

1overcosc · #9 Posted **Jul 6, 2013, 5:46 AM**

Quote:

I'm encouraged to hear work is progressing at Hunt Club. ( I assume you refer to the new interchange?)

Yep. There's definitely construction work going on at the interchange. I drive by there often enough and the roadbed for the ramps is clearly built, and base of the bridge's span is up as well.

It's actually quite incredible how much work is being on the queensway this year. There's six active projects in the city's borders right now:
1) Widening between Highway 7 and Eagleson
2) Bridge replacement @ Kirkwood
3) Widening between Nicholas and the 174
4) Hunt Club interchange
5) Resurfacing between Ramsayville overpass & Eight Line underpass
6) Bridge rehab @ Boundary

There's literally a 22km constant construction zone between Nicholas and Boundary. You see a "Construction Zone Ends" sign followed immediately by a "Construction Zone Begins" sign the whole way through.

1overcosc · #10 Posted **Jul 6, 2013, 5:51 AM**

Also MTO has moved some signs around. Coming in from the east, there's the blue sign telling you that Metcalfe St takes you to downtown Ottawa, and going east, there's the green sign telling you the number of kms remaining to Montreal. Both signs have been moved 10km east. They used to be around Walkley, now they're between Anderson & Boundary.

NOWINYOW · #11 Posted **Jul 6, 2013, 3:34 PM**

Webcams for the 2 bridges are up and running. Appear to be still images updated every 30 seconds or so. Too bad they're not live streaming. Though they will provide a good stop-frame edited timeline, likely appearing on a youtube video near you soon!
http://mtobridges.com/

eternallyme · #12 Posted **Jul 6, 2013, 10:28 PM**

If I were to make a prediction, Holland and Parkdale are probably the next bridges, as they seem to be in the worst shape and are part of the same general corridor.

eternallyme · #13 Posted **Jul 7, 2013, 3:38 AM**

That makes me think...is it possible to do rapid replacement on concrete-span bridges? Most of the remaining bridges are concrete semi-arched.

1overcosc · #14 Posted **Jul 15, 2013, 6:10 AM**

Picture of machines parked for the 417 work (this was the PM peak so I don't think any actual work was happening). I took this picture heading west on the 417, immediately before the 174 merges in (you can see its onramp on the right).

Also, around the Riverside interchange regrading has started at the edge of the shoulder, presumably to allow the new lanes to be added to the outside. In both directions from Nicholas to the Split there are concrete barriers separating the right lane from the shoulder, making for a rather claustrophobic drive. All of the offramps are also reduced to just one lane instead of two as the outside lane of each offramp is sealed away with these concrete barriers. It's creating quite the congestion hell at peak periods... and non-peak periods. Getting on the 417 east at MIDNIGHT on a weekday, traffic was stopped dead in the Nicholas onramp as it tried to merge in.

1overcosc · #15 Posted **Aug 14, 2013, 1:53 AM**

Access to St. Laurent from the east is now closed. The special offramp from the 174 is still under construction.

On the 417 westbound, grading work is almost finished on both sides of the Rideau River bridge.

Work is moving really fast on this widening compared to the Kanata one. There's work happening at literally all hours of the day. I've seen workers there even on Sunday evenings.

eternallyme · #16 Posted **Aug 14, 2013, 2:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Access to St. Laurent from the east is now closed. The special offramp from the 174 is still under construction.

On the 417 westbound, grading work is almost finished on both sides of the Rideau River bridge.

Work is moving really fast on this widening compared to the Kanata one. There's work happening at literally all hours of the day. I've seen workers there even on Sunday evenings.

That is likely due to a tighter timeline because of ramp closures and the LRT construction.

waterloowarrior · #17 Posted **Aug 15, 2013, 4:35 AM**

from the Highways in Canada thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonysnob

New video of Hwy 417 through Kanata shot in June. Hwy 417 was being widened from four to six and eight lanes when this video was shot. Construction is to be completed next year.

• Video Link

1overcosc · #18 Posted **Aug 15, 2013, 8:18 PM**

Next year now? Good lord the Kanata widening is taking forever. 3 years--to build concrete over a grass median?

Whereas in the east, they have to widen the road allowance itself through demolition and regarding, replace entire bridges, they started construction only a few months ago and they're already half done.

Deadlines really do make a difference after all. Perhaps we should put tight deadlines on all of our construction projects.

waterloowarrior · #19 Posted **Aug 15, 2013, 9:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Next year now? Good lord the Kanata widening is taking forever. 3 years--to build concrete over a grass median?

Whereas in the east, they have to widen the road allowance itself through demolition and regarding, replace entire bridges, they started construction only a few months ago and they're already half done.

Deadlines really do make a difference after all. Perhaps we should put tight deadlines on all of our construction projects.

It makes things a lot easier for commuters, but tight deadlines also mean more expensive night construction, extended road closures, lots more coordination needed, and the cost can't be spread out over multiple years without tinkering with the financing and/or postponing other projects.

Richard Eade · #20 Posted **Aug 28, 2013, 4:46 PM**

It looks like the west-bound lanes of the OR174 at ‘The Split’ are paved and ready for opening by the Aug. 30, 2013. Even the new segregated west-bound off-ramp to St-Laurent looks ready.

http://traffic.ottawa.ca/map/cameraWindow?id=166
http://traffic.ottawa.ca/map/cameraWindow?id=167

There are still only 2 lanes for the west-bound OR174 under the Cyrville Bridge and the necking down to 3 lanes (at best - probably less during construction) across the St-Laurent overpass means that vehicles will still need to shift left. So, no real ‘fix’ for ‘The Split’ until at least 2018.