Progress report and update: Feb. 2013
The Lansdowne Park redevelopment is one of the most visible and significant public/private partnership projects in Ottawa’s recent history. We will be following the project’s progress, sharing news and updates about participating contractors, sub-trades and consultants, and providing you with insights into upcoming stages.
Over the past few weeks, residents in the area received notifications about the soil improvement and rapid compaction work in the parking garage area. The first phase of this work is complete but will be resuming again in a few weeks, while shoring work is ongoing and about 80 per cent complete.
Slabs are being set for the garage and future retail areas, and several months of concrete work still lay ahead.
General contractor Pomerleau is co-ordinating approximately $136 million worth of work, including rebuilding the stadium and constructing a new parking garage.
Pomerleau’s project director Philippe Goulet says the addition of an on-site concrete plant is a brilliant idea. “Some days we’ll be pouring more than 1,000 cubic meters of concrete and it’s a huge traffic relief not to have the trucks coming and going,” he said. “It was estimated this move would reduce traffic to the site by 15,000 trips.”
Goulet says site servicing is nearing completion, with work on the largest and first of two underground storm water management tanks almost finished.
“The north stand and Civic Centre demolition are done and the removal of the roof over the north stands is happening now.” Goulet explains this will be a very visible component of the work, with 14 meters of girders being cut in mid-air. “This is an interesting part of the project and one of the higher-risk components.”
Work is 95 per cent complete on stadium’s south side foundation walls and workers have poured some of the suspended slabs for the lower concourse.
Goulet says the project is on schedule overall, with work on the south side slightly ahead and work on the north slightly behind due to some discoveries during the deconstruction. “There was some wiring we didn’t expect and more asbestos than we had anticipated,” he said. “We’ve had a lot more snow this year than the recent years so we’ve had to shovel out a few times and there was one really cold week in January that work was kept to a minimum but in general we’re where we should be.”
Goulet says Pomerleau continues to communicate with Glebe Business Improvement Area representatives and that there will be considerably more tradespeople on site towards the end of March as work steps up on the project’s retail buildings.
Watch for additional updates as we follow the work at Lansdowne.
