Ottawa's north-south light rail transit line facing nine-month construction delay
The Trillium Line extension from Bayview Station to Riverside South is running nine months behind schedule, as the COVID-19 pandemic causes delays with construction.
Meantime, construction on the western extension of the Confederation Line is facing a potential 10-month delay due to "schedule pressures" related to excavation work and the ongoing pandemic.
Ottawa's finance and economic development committee received an update on the $4 billion Stage 2 of the light rail transit system. The plan would extend the Confederation Line to Trim Road in the east and Moodie Drive and Algonquin College in the west, while the Trillium Line will run north-south from Bayview Station to Riverside South.
The north-south Trillium Line was originally scheduled to be completed in August 2022, and handed over to the city for final testing.
Rail construction manager Michel Morgan told councillors that TransitNEXT, led by SNC-Lavalin, is reporting a delay in construction.
"TransitNEXT is indicating ongoing and continuing schedule impacts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic amongst other issues," said Morgan.
The plan would see full line testing begin in December 2022, with substantial competition and hand over to the city expected in the middle of May 2023. The trial-running period for the Trillium Line is 21 days.
CONFEDERATION LINE
As construction continues to extend the Confederation Line, Morgan said there are "starting to be pressures" related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the construction industry.
Morgan also said workers have encountered problems with the clay while digging the LRT corridor along the Sir John A. MacDonald Parkway.
Morgan told councillors they are looking at a 10-month delay for the western extension, but staff will meet with the contractors in the new year to discuss the schedule for completion. The LRT to Moodie Drive and Algonquin College was originally scheduled to be completed by August 2025.
The eastern section of the Confederation Line from Blair Station to Trim Road is on track to be finished in 2024.
"We're still on schedule," said Morgan.
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