Toronto GO Transit: Davenport Diamond Grade Separation | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx

crs1026 said:
When I was in the area today, there were crews working to remove material - forms, etc - from the site. It looks like construction is indeed winding down somewhat. Lots of labour on site - whatever slowdowns there may have been over the holidays, there are more than enough workers there at the moment.

Some concrete is still being poured up top, but I do believe that the first track will be ready by next weekend.

And when the fences come down, I do think the new public space will be pleasant.

- Paul

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I think you've mentioned it in the past but what bridge is that second picture taken from?
 
crs1026 said:
When I was in the area today, there were crews working to remove material - forms, etc - from the site. It looks like construction is indeed winding down somewhat. Lots of labour on site - whatever slowdowns there may have been over the holidays, there are more than enough workers there at the moment.

Some concrete is still being poured up top, but I do believe that the first track will be ready by next weekend.

And when the fences come down, I do think the new public space will be pleasant.

- Paul

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That's...not the final cladding, is it?
 
Towered said:
That's...not the final cladding, is it?
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There's some speculation that, since the noise wall has what looks like brackets on it, there'll be an outer layer of cladding on it? I certainly hope so. The columns and guideway itself look just fine, but the noise wall is really quite dismal.
 
^When I was there the other day, at temperature +3, they were still pouring concrete, with a large furnace blowing warmed air up from the ground level. I would bet that the drop in temperature affected that work..

I was surprised that they were intending to finish the rail laying and ballasting in this weather - installing the rails when it's this cold would be iffy as the rails will have to be destressed in the spring when the temperature rises. And once the ballast freezes solid, shifting and surfacing the track would also be iffy. Perhaps they were hoping the weather stayed warm but pushed their luck too far.

There was no shortage of labour down there this week.

There have been several construction notices about overnight work lately. One was for installation of a new signal bridge around Davenport - I drove by today and couldn't spot any sign of a new signal setup. Another was about core drilling the plinths, likely for the rail fasteners - not sure they can do that in this cold, either.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
^When I was there the other day, at temperature +3, they were still pouring concrete, with a large furnace blowing warmed air up from the ground level. I would bet that the drop in temperature affected that work..

I was surprised that they were intending to finish the rail laying and ballasting in this weather - installing the rails when it's this cold would be iffy as the rails will have to be destressed in the spring when the temperature rises. And once the ballast freezes solid, shifting and surfacing the track would also be iffy. Perhaps they were hoping the weather stayed warm but pushed their luck too far.

There was no shortage of labour down there this week.

There have been several construction notices about overnight work lately. One was for installation of a new signal bridge around Davenport - I drove by today and couldn't spot any sign of a new signal setup. Another was about core drilling the plinths, likely for the rail fasteners - not sure they can do that in this cold, either.

- Paul
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Thank you Paul. Honestly you give the best and most insightful responses on here. Definitely no shortage of workers for this company and I agree with your points. I do however wish they pushed harder and did more work in the summer and spring months. Often times they would clock out at 4pm, and only do overnight work when there are upcoming deadlines (which were never met anyway). Putting in the work but Too little too late as they say. Cheers.
 
Not defending anybody's contract management, and while we all want infrastructure projects done sooner than later, extended work hours usually come with increased labour costs, as well as potential noise restrictions, public complaints, etc. Projects of this have a lot of moving parts that have to happen in a particular order or at least be ready and 'in the yard'. Some trades might rotate between this job and others rather than sit around waiting for their cue, and they often can't be re-scheduled on short notice. Heck, if you've ever had a house built or waited for a condo to be finished, I'll bet it wasn't delivered on time.
 
I came for an update about the project!

Let's be clear: Unions are good; worker protections are good; many construction projects in Ontario are clearly mis-managed; there is corruption in the industry due to the fact that it's hard to exactly track work and money can easily go to someone's "friend"; some of the corruption is likely connected to organized crime; but there's also a healthy dose of bureaucratic mismanagement; and when it gets to the municipal level, there's penny-pinching that slows everything down.

Who knows why this project is delayed till April, but oh god, if you want to witness a mismanaged and relatively simple construction project, please visit the KQQR intersection.
 
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