17 Feb LRT Phase 2 Revised Vision
The City of Ottawa has refined its plans to expand the LRT Network to coincide with the opening of the LRT Phase 1 next year.
Phase 2 calls for an eastern expansion from Blair Station to Trim Road in Orleans, a western expansion from Tunney’s Pasture to Bayshore Shopping Mall with a spur to Algonquin College and a southern extension of the current O-Train Trillium Line from Greenboro Station to Bowesville Road, including a spur to the Ottawa International Airport.
The City predicts the southern extension will open first by 2021, the eastern extension by 2022 and the western extension by 2023.
The southern extension will also yield a new LRT station on the south side of Walkley Road.
Regrettably, the O-Train will be shut down for approximately 16 months, from May 2020 to September 2021 to allow for tunnel repairs under Dow’s Lake, Rideau River Bridge rehab work, station construction at Gladstone and Walkley Road, new track requirements south of the current line, as well as the new spur to the airport.
The City also proposes to relocate the current maintenance facility located in the Walkley Road/Albion freight yard further west closer to Bank Street, south of Ledbury Park.
For extensive details about the City’s plans for LRT Phase 2, feel free to review the memo received today from John Manconi, General Manager, Transportation Services Department, attached below.
Memo to Council_Stage2LRT_Implementation Report_FINAL_EN
Memo to Council_Stage2LRT_Implementation Report_FINAL_FR
Please also find below, the Stage 2 Implementation Report going to the Finance and Economic Development Committee on February 24, 2017. Interested residents can speak at committee if they wish, please contact our office to make the arrangements.
Stage 2 Implementation (EN)
Stage 2 Implementation (FR)
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Below is the Press Release sent out by the city on this topic:
City shares significant news about plans to move forward with Stage 2 Light Rail Transit
Ottawa – Mayor Jim Watson, Councillor Keith Egli, Chair of the City’s Transportation Committee, Councillor Stephen Blais, Chair of the Transit Commission, and City of Ottawa staff today shared significant news about plans to move forward with the Stage 2 Light Rail Transit Project.
City Staff also provided a detailed presentation of a related report on Stage 2 LRT, in advance of the tabling of the report at the Finance and Economic Development Committee on February 24, and at City Council on March 8. The briefing included an update on significant changes to the scope of the project, information on the final alignment adjustments, the recommended procurement model and the specific activities the City will undertake to get ready to implement Stage 2.
Following extensive public consultation and preliminary engineering work, an expansion of the scope of the Stage 2 LRT Project is being proposed, in order to extend light rail further and faster to the West, South and East:
- Confederation Line West: beyond Bayshore to Moodie Drive, and southwest to Algonquin College;
- Confederation Line East: beyond Place d’Orleans to Trim Road;
- Trillium Line extension to Bowesville and Riverside South; and
- An Airport Rail Link from South Keys Station on the Trillium Line.
As part of the Western Line extension, an additional Maintenance and Storage Facility will be built in the Moodie Drive area to continue to fast-track LRT progress westerly and service the 8,500 public servants at the new Department of National Defence employment hub at the former Nortel Networks campus.
The briefing also laid out the City’s innovative approach to the procurement of the Stage 2 Project, continuing to work with existing partner Rideau Transit Group (RTG) to ensure an integrated and consistent expanded system while maximizing the amount of work to be procured under new competitions.
The Stage 2 expansion of the O-Train network will be undertaken through two new procurements:
- A new $2.5-billion Design-Build-Finance competition for the Confederation Line East and West extensions (includes Airport, Trim and Highway 417, and City-bundled works); and
- A new $535-million Design-Build-Finance-Maintain competition for the Trillium Line extension.
The $3 billion in light rail contracts will be bundled with additional City infrastructure projects in order to improve construction integration, reduce detours, save money, and reduce impacts to the community. The total of over $3.6 billion in combined work will generate over 21,000 person-years of employment.
Upon approval of this report by Council, the project will go to market later this winter. A final report will be brought forward in early 2018 outlining the results of the procurement process and related activities, leading to the final design and beginning of construction. The Stage 2 project will proceed with staggered openings to allow for faster expansions to LRT service:
- Trillium Line South extension in 2021
- Confederation Line East including Trim in 2022
- Confederation Line West to Moodie by 2023
Quotes
“In 2013, Council set out an ambitious goal for our City: to extend and share the benefits of light rail to more people in Ottawa by going farther and faster to the South, East and West. Today, staff delivered a report that, once approved, will transform Ottawa’s LRT network into a world-class transit system. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with our Federal and Provincial partners on this important environmental transportation vision.”
Mayor Jim Watson, City of Ottawa
“Thanks to the experience and knowledge gained through the construction of Confederation Line, we are on track to the next stage of delivering a world-class transit system to our residents. When Stage 2 is fully complete in 2023, we will have added over 38 kilometres of new rail and 23 new stations to Ottawa’s transit system.”
Councillor Keith Egli, Chair of the Transportation Committee
“Over the next few years we will see our vision of a city-wide affordable transit system becoming reality, with this transformational investment in light rail increasing the quality and reliability of our service. More and more people will opt for transit as their first transportation choice, and not just for their daily commute, but for trips out with their families, to the game, the theatre – and not just to downtown.”
Councillor Stephen Blais, Chair of the Transit Commission
Quick Facts:
- The Stage 2 Implementation report provides recommendations that meet the directions given by Council in the “Stage 2 Light Rail Transit (LRT) Environmental and Functional Design Report,” approved by City Council on July 8, 2015. If approved, it will allow for a competitive procurement process for all three Stage 2 extensions and the related supporting projects, and permit the projects to be built within the City’s affordability envelope.
- The Stage 2 LRT Project budget is $3 billion (excluding the Trim Extension with one station at $160 million, and the Airport Rail Link with two stations at $155 million).
- The Trim and Airport extensions will only proceed if they are fully funded by the federal and provincial governments; on June 3, 2016 the province of Ontario has committed to covering half of the capital costs for both of these projects.
- Once the federal funding commitment is confirmed, the City can proceed with the release of the Stage 2 Request for Proposals.
- The Moodie extension is expected to be achievable within the original budget envelope for Stage 2.
