Residents are watching future rail lines take shape across Ottawa as two contractors build the existing LRT to the south, east and west. With 44 kilometers of track, 24 new stations and a total project cost of more than $4.6 billion, the Stage 2 rail project is the most expensive in the city’s history. The western leg was always slated to open last, with an initial date of 2025. It involves building 11 stations from the existing Tunney station, west to Moodie and Algonquin College, with a 2.8 km tunnel near the Ottawa River and along of Byron Avenue. The Stage 2 rail project will extend the Trillium Line to the south and the Confederation Line both east and west. (City of Ottawa) Building that tunnel was a challenge, Ottawa rail director Michael Morgan explained as he showed dozens of photos to the finance and economic development committee. “We’re seeing a lot of pressure on the availability of the boats to actually take on the work, so it’s people doing rebar, people pouring concrete, people building stations,” he said. Many major infrastructure projects in Ontario are delayed and there is a cement shortage in North America, he added. When Morgan last gave the committee timelines in April, the western extension was three months behind schedule. In August, he sent the council a memo saying the delay could be “up to a year”. Now, Morgan says it’s 17 months late. Bay ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh worried overnight work could increase and said neighbors’ mental health was being affected by years of construction. “Ideally some of these really big impacts, like rock excavation, will end in the near future,” Morgan told her. Some homeowners have experienced this digging, or received lights on their properties. More work and noise will be “forced in” as more of the tunnel is roofed, he added.
Trillium Line a year back
The same contractor, Kiewit-Eurovia-Vinci, is also extending the Confederation Line to Orléans by adding five stations.
“Overall, the east is still on schedule,” Morgan said, noting that the leg is only 36 days behind schedule at this point and should be delivered to the city on Jan. 1, 2025.
Residents will likely see Citadis Spirit trains running along the tracks in the median of Highway 174 by next year, when testing begins, he said.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson makes remarks at an event unveiling the new Stadler FLIRT train system for the city’s Trillium Line at Walkley Yard in Ottawa last July. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)
The southern extension of the Trillium diesel line to Riverside South and Ottawa International Airport should have been done by now.
Instead, contractor SNC-Lavalin has laid 65 percent of the tracks and expects to deliver the line to the city next August, a year late, Morgan said. The Stadler FLIRT diesel trains arrived several months ago, but testing of the Siemens signaling system can begin in earnest once all the lines are complete, he added.
In July, the city council approved an additional $60 million for the Stage 2 project because the contingency fund was nearly empty and hydro and gas lines needed to be relocated.
Coun. Eli El-Chantiry asked if more funds would be needed given current supply shortfalls. Morgan said that was possible because the city’s LRT oversight office will have to stay open longer and more claims come in toward the end of a project.
Tuesday was the last meeting of Ottawa’s finance and economic development committee chaired by outgoing mayor Jim Watson. After hearing the Stage 2 update, council members spent nearly two hours in closed session to hear an update on lawsuits and claims related to both stages of LRT construction. No details were publicly shared.
