City does some re-configuring to make way for Stage 2 East extension
Mayor Jim Watson joined Marie-France Lalonde, the Member of Parliament for Orléans, representing the Government of Canada, and Jeremy Roberts, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, and MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean, from the Government of Ontario to start demolition on the former Highway 174 overpass at Montreal Road. The interchange has been modified to make space for the future Montreal Road LRT station that will be part of the Stage 2 LRT O-Train East extension.
The Highway 174 Montreal Road interchange has undergone a significant transformation as part of the Stage 2 Light Rail Transit O-Train East extension. In less than one year, the Stage 2 team has constructed seven new ramps and two new bridges. With the recent completion of the two new Highway 174 bridges, the old bridges can be demolished making way for construction of the future track and station.
Over the course of one weekend, various pieces of large construction equipment fitted with hydraulic hammers, buckets, forks and shears will demolish 1,456 m3 of concrete and 160 metric tonnes of steel. This significant project milestone will allow the Stage 2 O-Train East extension project to enter a new chapter by setting the stage for Montreal Station construction in 2021.
Montreal Station will be located in the median of Highway 174, above Montreal Road. The platform will span Montreal Road and include bus stops on both sides of Montreal Road beneath the station. Sidewalks and station entry plazas will allow pedestrians and cyclists to move along Montreal Road and in and out of the station. The station will have bus stops to allow customers to transfer between the train and local buses.
East-West Connectors (EWC), the contractor building the Stage 2 LRT east and west O-Train extensions, will extend Stage 2 from Blair Station to Trim Road. Over 12 kilometres of new rail will be added along with five new stations at Montreal Road, Jeanne d'Arc Boulevard, Orléans Boulevard, Place d'Orléans and Trim Road.
The dual tracked Confederation Line will continue east from the existing terminus of Blair Station passing under Blair Road, on the north side of Highway 174. The rail line will then cross over the westbound lanes of the highway and run along a widened highway median to the final station at Trim Park and Ride.
The O-Train East extension is one of three projects that make up Stage 2 LRT. Line 1 is also being extended west from Tunney's Pasture to Lincoln Fields where it will split, travelling south to Baseline Station and west to Moodie Drive. O-Train Line 2, the Trillium Line, is being extended south from Greenboro Station to Limebank Road in Riverside South, with a link to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport.
The Stage 2 Light Rail Transit Project is a $4.66 billion project that is jointly funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the City of Ottawa.
Stage 2 LRT will get you home faster, expanding the reliability, accessibility and comfort of light rail transit. Using world class vehicles with low-floor seating and other accessibility features, and stations supporting transit-oriented development, Stage 2 will transform commuting in Ottawa. It will connect communities, including Ottawa's major employment centres, post-secondary institutions, shopping and recreation destinations, and arts and culture hotpots. Stage 2 will relieve congestion, reducing approximately one sixth of Ottawa's total vehicle kilometres travelled and save commuters time and money.
Stage 2 supports healthy commuting, gives residents more options for how they commute, including biking to work. Ottawa is integrating the city's pathway network with all light rail developments in support of mixed-mode commuting.
Quotes
"The Government of Canada's investments in projects that support affordable, reliable and sustainable public transit options will ensure these resources are available for generations to come. The Stage 2 O-Train East extension is a significant project in the City of Ottawa that will help reduce traffic congestion in residential areas, while improving East end residents' accessibility to other communities and city centre. Canada's infrastructure plan invests in thousands of projects, creates jobs across the country, and builds cleaner, more inclusive communities."
Marie-France Lalonde, Member of Parliament for Orléans
"Congratulations to the City of Ottawa on this important milestone. Our government is proud to support the expansion of the Ottawa LRT by providing up to approximately $1.2 billion for Stage 2 of this project in addition to the up to $600 million we have committed for Stage 1. Providing funding for local transit projects like this one is a key part of that commitment to building public transit, highways, roads and bridges that connect people to places, make commutes shorter and relieve congestion."
Jeremy Roberts, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, and MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean
"Stage 2 will help ensure the nation's capital continues to be one of the best places in the world to live and work. It will make it easier for residents to connect between communities, to major employment centres, to post-secondary institutions, to shopping and recreation destinations, and to arts and culture hotpots. This investment will provide environmental benefits and significantly contribute to our local economy. In 2020, Stage 2 LRT has resulted in 1,400 local jobs and more than $500 million worth of contracts issued to local vendors."
Jim Watson, Mayor, City of Ottawa
Source : City of Ottawa
