Ottawa Construction News staff writer
Construction continues to ramp up on the O-Train network in Ottawa, extending to the south, east and west as part of Stage 2 LRT. The city’s finance and economic development committee heard an update in May on the project from the rail construction program with details about upcoming construction activities.
Station construction continues at all locations in the south, with work progressing at the Walkley Maintenance and Storage Facility and on multiple rail bridges and guideways.
In the east, ongoing Highway 174 road work and utility relocation are making way for LRT infrastructure in the highway’s centre median. As of the end of April, 21 girders have been installed as part of rail bridge construction between Blair Station and the median of Highway 174.
Work in the west includes progress on the Moodie Light Maintenance and Storage Facility, the Lincoln Fields Station area, Byron Linear Park, and the slurry plant at Rochester Field and the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway. Cut-and-cover tunnel construction has started on the Parkway tunnel and work is ongoing on the trench at the Moodie and Pinecrest interchanges with Highway 417.
The committee approved the first application to the new Montreal Road Community Improvement Plan, which aims to stimulate business investment and urban renewal in Vanier. The tax-equivalent grant would support a $17-million investment in a high-end auto dealership that would stand as a new gateway building into Quartier Vanier, rejuvenating the corridor and creating economic activity and jobs in Vanier.
Maintaining a Comprehensive Asset Management policy is vital to ensuring the city can continue to secure funding from other levels of government. The committee approved updates to the city’s policy reaffirming the principles established in the original policy and bringing it in line with current standards.
The committee also received an update on Comprehensive Asset Management program initiatives and the framework of the city’s Asset Management Plans. An Asset Management Plan is a strategic document with a 10-year view of the strategies and activities that will be applied to infrastructure assets to achieve service-delivery expectations within the City’s recognized financial and delivery constraints.
