TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[TheTigerMaster]

Yes.

See this TTC video:https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&sour...G_9j_beKRD9CYdnTg&sig2=j_7JGvEDTdHj_CxOrYTJJw

 

[JamesKoole]

Looks like the 504/503 King diversion both ways Parliament and Queen to the bridge over the DVP is continuing through spring 2015 now. The road closed sign was updated with the new date yesterday. I think that makes an additional 18 months beyond the expected original completion date that whatever work is being done under the bridge will have that section of road closed.

http://ttc.ca/Service_Advisories/Route_diversions/504_King_bdg.jsp

Anyone have any idea what the issue is, and why the TTC diversion needs to happen? Congestion at the Queen/Parliament intersection is awful at times and contributes to much of the bunching and short turns of the 504 route at Church or Parliament. At some point, there needs to be some consideration given to putting a bus shuttle along the section of King that has been without transit for a year now.

jk

 

[DSCToronto]

Looks like the 504/503 King diversion both ways Parliament and Queen to the bridge over the DVP is continuing through spring 2015 now. The road closed sign was updated with the new date yesterday. I think that makes an additional 18 months beyond the expected original completion date that whatever work is being done under the bridge will have that section of road closed.

http://ttc.ca/Service_Advisories/Route_diversions/504_King_bdg.jsp

Anyone have any idea what the issue is, and why the TTC diversion needs to happen? Congestion at the Queen/Parliament intersection is awful at times and contributes to much of the bunching and short turns of the 504 route at Church or Parliament. At some point, there needs to be some consideration given to putting a bus shuttle along the section of King that has been without transit for a year now.

jk

The history of this VERY long-running project is described elsewhere on this Forum (Corktown I think) nut basically:

When WT and IO built the berm on the West Don lands site they needed to install a back-flow prevention valve on the huge sewer that runs immediately south of the bridge. (To stop the water coming UP the sewer if there were a huge flood.)

When they started work they found that the foundations of the bridge were not in good shape and were actually wooden piles. Initially they expected that the bridge could remain open apart from the (fairly short) time it would take to dig out the area for the back-flow valve.

Predictably the digging took longer and had to go deeper so the closure was extended. They did some fairly minor work to stabilise the bridge and no longer needed to do testing on it every day. Then they realised that the bridge foundations were worse than expected so now they are installing new bridge foundations.

The latest date I heard for reopening bridge was February 2015 but ... There is more info on all this in the West Don Lands Construction Liaison Committee. http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/explore_projects2/west_don_lands The last ones posted are from their August meeting (they meet every 6-8 weeks) and said:

Bridge Repair:
IO completed the investigation of the footings of the bridge and found that the soils and footings were impacted. It was also discovered that the footings are made of wood as opposed to reinforced concrete as indicated in the City’s as-builts. Monitoring continues.
Footings have been impacted by excavation work being done for the installation of the back flow preventer (BFP). IO will be installing micro piles to bedrock at 3 locations (piers) only. Bridge work cannot be completed until back flow preventer is installed.
IO has had to request an extension of the closure of the bridge due to delays. The current estimated opening is January 2015. IO to replace existing signage at either end of the bridge to reflect new date.
Mobilization of micro pilling work is scheduled to begin August 26th.

 

[JamesKoole]

Thanks for the information. Wonder if the TTC is rethinking not having bus shuttles along there. I guess it's gone on long enough now that a few more months won't change their plans.

James

 

[nfitz]

Thanks for the information. Wonder if the TTC is rethinking not having bus shuttles along there. I guess it's gone on long enough now that a few more months won't change their plans.

I don't see much benefit from bus shuttles. Parliament/King is still served by 504. River/King is a stone's throw from River/Queen. Sumach/King is only a 150 metre walk away from Sumach/Queen. Trinity/King has already been scheduled for removal. That means the only 504 stop that's really a bit of a walk is Sackville/King - and it's only a 300 metre walk from King/Parliament and 350 metres from Queen/Sumach.

I don't see much point making people transfer from bus to streetcar to service only one stop - I expect most would walk anyway. Not that there's any extra buses right now, given TTC had to do significant cuts to service to various bus routes this month because of a shortage of vehicles.

The main annoyance is the additional 5+ minutes the 504 takes during rush-hour, going up Parliament, and down Queen. Though I might think otherwise if I lived at Sackville and King!

 

[doug]

It was also discovered that the footings are made of wood as opposed to reinforced concrete as indicated in the City’s as-builts

it's interesting how the city inspectors, who would have had to have signed off on this, mistook wood for reinforced concrete.

 

[nfitz]

it's interesting how the city inspectors, who would have had to have signed off on this, mistook wood for reinforced concrete.

In 1911? I expect no one actually bothered to look at the original as-builts - if they even were done back then ... they'd have had to have gone back to the original design drawings in the archives. I wondered if there were any photos of the foundations on-line - couldn't see anything, but here's a couple just after it was built.

Looking East in 1915


Looking West in 1911

 

[DSCToronto]

The October WT Newsletter says:

Before redevelopment of the West Don Lands - including the Athletes’ Village/Canary District - could occur it was first necessary to implement a series of flood mitigation measures. In spring 2012, the construction of the flood protection landform (FPL) by Infrastructure Ontario was nearing completion.

The FPL is an engineering feat that is essentially a 4-metre high berm that creates a flood barrier along the west side of the Don River. It protects 201 hectares (519 acres) and an estimated $162 million in potential flood damage from catastrophic storm events. The FPL has also provided the base for Corktown Common, the area’s signature park.

One of the final pieces of work to complete the FPL was the installation of a backflow preventer on an existing storm sewer beneath the King-Queen bridge. The backflow preventer is a pipe the size of a bus that will allow stormwater to flow out to the Don River but will prevent flooding from flowing back on to adjacent lands. Without it, the FPL would be ineffective.

When excavation for the installation of the backflow preventer began, it quickly became clear to Infrastructure Ontario that the century-old bridge footings would need to be fortified before any further work could continue. The work currently underway below the bridge is required to reinforce the structure and extend the life of this important piece of infrastructure. The work is complex and takes time.

Work to-date has included the installation of a series of micro piles. Micro piles are small diameter rods drilled into bedrock adjacent to the bridge columns to reinforce the columns and support the bridge span. The micro piles are encased in a steel pipe and then filled with concrete grout for stability.

Work has also included reinforcing the existing columns and column bases. The column bases have been reinforced with large steel I-Beams where the column bases meet the back flow preventer and diagonal bracing has been installed on the columns for further reinforcement.

Future work includes pouring new concrete pile caps and incorporating them into the existing bridge footings, as well as performing work to ensure the bridge columns are level and plumb. New column bearing plates will be installed at the same time.

Infrastructure Ontario expects to complete the work in early 2015 and is grateful for the community’s patience. Infrastructure Ontario have updated the signs on the bridge and will make every effort to keep the community up-to-date on the status of work going forward.

For more information or questions about the work being undertaken at the King-Queen bridge please contact info@infrastructureontario.ca.

 

[DSCToronto]

it's interesting how the city inspectors, who would have had to have signed off on this, mistook wood for reinforced concrete.

Why do you think that the supports were supposed to be concrete? In 1910 it was common to use wooden piles for foundations. I bet the original specs are long lost and IO and WT assumed (wrongly as it turned out, that the bridge was built to modern standards.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

[h=1]Blue priority seating focus of latest TTC explainer video[/h]
See link to the TTC.

[video=youtube_share;PwmEg34WHSM]http://youtu.be/PwmEg34WHSM[/video]

 

[doug]

I expect no one actually bothered to look at the original as-builts - if they even were done back then

Why do you think that the supports were supposed to be concrete?

It seems that neither of you know what 'as built drawing' means.

 

[nfitz]

It seems that neither of you know what 'as built drawing' means.

Why do you say that? How do you go from my thought that no one actually bothered to look at the original as-builts (if they were even done back then) to me not knowing what "as built drawing" (sic) means?

I can assure you that not only do I know what they are, I have used them, and created them, professionally.

 

[doug]

Why do you say that? How do you go from my thought that no one actually bothered to look at the original as-builts (if they were even done back then) to me not knowing what "as built drawing" (sic) means?

I can assure you that not only do I know what they are, I have used them, and created them, professionally.

Me too, I guess my internet credentials equal your internet credentials, and are just as meaningless.

As built drawings show what was actually built, according to the post i referenced, they do exist....why are you having such a difficult time understanding my comment?

 

[nfitz]

As built drawings show what was actually built, according to the post i referenced, they do exist

I'm not sure what proof you have that they exist. A weekly Waterfront Toronto update? I wouldn't put a lot of stock in that.

I'd think that given that they are wood, and not reinforced concrete, that would suggest that whatever source Waterfront Toronto had for the material-type was not actually an as-built, as it does seem quite improbable that they would be that wrong!

I personally have not seen any as-builts that were that old. Anything of that vintage I've come across have been design drawings, and it's always questionable if they were the final ones or not. Hmm, that's an interesting Engineering history question - when did it become the norm to create as-built drawings?

why are you having such a difficult time understanding my comment?

I don't see the need to be rude.

 

[wopchop]

Me too, I guess my internet credentials equal your internet credentials, and are just as meaningless.

As built drawings show what was actually built, according to the post i referenced, they do exist....why are you having such a difficult time understanding my comment?

An as-built drawing can also be a current drawing, made by the project team, of a structure that they are working around, modifying, adding onto, etc. It does not necessarily have to be a drawing that was made at the time of original construction.