St.Laurent Station remains closed, here's the alternative

Though the rail service will launch as planned this long weekend, St-Laurent Station remains closed after finding evidence of corrosion and concrete delamination during a regular inspection on the ceiling tiles on Friday, OC Transpo says.

"Bus service to St. Laurent Station will run on the normal schedule, with a shuttle service between St-Laurent and Cyrville Station," said Renée Amilcar, general manager, Transit Services Department, said in a memo to council.

OC Transpo said on Friday following a regular visual inspection, "it was observed that a few of the suspended ceiling tiles above the platform were disrupted."

"Following our standard operating procedures, there will be a detailed inspection carried out to assess the cause," Richard Holder, director of Engineering Services, said in a memo to council.

"In order to allow staff to set up the necessary work area to conduct the inspection, St. Laurent Station will be skipped."

Amilcar said in another memo on Sunday the process is expected to take several days, noting that another update on the measures will be given to the city Monday afternoon.  

Here's what you need to know about the service:

• Trains will run from Tunney’s Pasture to Blair Station on the normal Saturday schedule, while skipping the St. Laurent LRT station.

• Bus shuttles will operate between St. Laurent and Cyrville Stations.

• Route 19 will provide an additional option for customers traveling east to St. Laurent Station from Hurdman Station.

• Route 24 will provide an additional option for customers travelling west from Blair Station to St.Laurent.

Service updates will be shared online at octranspo.com.

In January, a section of the O-Train line was shutdown for several hours for a structural inspection, after pieces of concrete were found along the track at St. Laurent Station. Staff said an inspection found the concrete chipped off the main slab inside the tunnel, and crews performed "sounding and scaling" to remove small concrete pieces that had separated from the main slab.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle