2017 work chronicled for Confederation Line build

OTTAWA — The City of Ottawa has issued a 2017 year-end wrap-up of construction progress on its O-Train Confederation Line project.

Phase one work on the LRT system will extend the corridor west to the existing Bus Rapid Transitway at Tunney’s Pasture Station and to Blair Road in the east, as well as to the O-Train at Bayview Station. The project includes a 2.5-kilometre downtown tunnel.

An online update outlines work undertaken last year on the project:

• Tunnel excavation was complete in February.
• Vehicle testing occurred from Blair to uOttawa Station and will continue to extend west, reaching the entire alignment in 2018.
• All 10 traction power substations have been installed along the guideway, from Tunney’s Pasture to Blair stations and two at the Belfast Yard Maintenance, Storage and Administration facility (MSF).
• Approximately 20 of 25 kilometres of track have been installed along the guideway and one out of five kilometres of tunnel track.
• All 6.4 kilometres of track is installed at the MSF.
• 17 light rail vehicles have completed assembly and seven more are in various stages of production.
• All 335 Overhead Catenary System poles were installed along the guideway.
• By the end of the project, there will be 84,181 cubic metres of poured concrete in the tunnel.
• The waterproofing inside the tunnel, once complete, will cover 104,397 square metres.