Waterloo Region Transit Developments (ION LRT, new terminal, GRT buses)

[BMO]

A temporary shelter is being constructed at King and Victoria, to cover the grade separation work and allow crews to keep working through the winter.

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I've never been as impressed as I am seeing this by such an attempt to meet a deadline for a rapid transit project

 

[gweed123]

Ottawa is doing something similar (albeit not on as grand of a scale) for one of the entrances to Parliament station: http://www.ligneconfederationline.ca/construction/construction-update-56/

 

[Duck]

Some more photos of today. It's gotten even larger - the arch sections before were just little ones. I had no idea the #DomeTube was going to be so huge!

 

[Duck]

Along Charles street, not too far from the dome, crews have erected temporary shelters over the tracks, so they can continue to pour embedded track during the winter.

 

[crs1026]

Keep up with the updates, they are wonderful! Whenever I get depressed at how things are going in Toronto, looking at this line cheers me up again.

- Paul

 

[georgevicbell]

Man, that is dedication to LRT construction...covered domes...I feel like Waterloo should take out some ads on the TTC..."THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE!"...the TTC doesn't even hire people to stand around at their construction sites, they are just empty for months at a time...

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

Man, that is dedication to LRT construction...covered domes...I feel like Waterloo should take out some ads on the TTC..."THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE!"...the TTC doesn't even hire people to stand around at their construction sites, they are just empty for months at a time...

I don't think the TTC does much construction during the winter any way. I know last year when Queen Quay was still being done they put up tents along the ares they were working on but all the TTC work was done by the fall.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Any chance the stations would be like the ones in this video?

Probably, not.

 

[muller877]

I don't think the TTC does much construction during the winter any way. I know last year when Queen Quay was still being done they put up tents along the ares they were working on but all the TTC work was done by the fall.

But doesn't the TTC employ hundreds of people that are dedicated to maintenance (that do outdoor track work in the summer)? Are they all working nights in the subway? What are they doing in the winter?

The contractor in Waterloo had a deadline and is willing to spend the $$ to keep the employees working. The TTC is paying for their employees...what are they doing?

 

[mpd618]

Any chance the stations would be like the ones in this video?

No. Stations will be basic platforms with small shelters and a decorative wall. Most of the stations are along relatively narrow streets in an urban environment - large enclosed stations were never on the table.

The only thing that could look like that is the King/Victoria transit hub, but that would be the section for intercity trains.

 

[Duck]

I don't remember if the last time I was up if these round footers were in place. At a first glance they look just like the OCS pole (Catpole) foundations along the rest of the line, but I'm also wondering if maybe these ones are just for overhead lighting (street lamps). I suspect it's the latter.

This new controls electronic box sits just North of the site, on the East side of the tracks.

 

[robmausser]

I've never been as impressed as I am seeing this by such an attempt to meet a deadline for a rapid transit project

Kitchener has a huge population of German immigrants. They don't @#!% around when it comes to punctuality.

 

[smallspy]

But doesn't the TTC employ hundreds of people that are dedicated to maintenance (that do outdoor track work in the summer)? Are they all working nights in the subway? What are they doing in the winter?

The contractor in Waterloo had a deadline and is willing to spend the $$ to keep the employees working. The TTC is paying for their employees...what are they doing?

The TTC doesn't hire any employees for construction. That's what the contractors do.

As for the track maintenance crews, they're doing the same thing in the winter as they do in the summer - track maintenance. The type of work that they do is a bit different, however.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[Duck]

All of the latticework arches are up at King and Victoria. I imagine once they need to start doing the concrete pours, they'll get to work at covering it and getting the heaters going.

The OMSF (yard) is jam packed full of construction equipment, now - last week the whole interior yard lot was pretty much empty, so they have really geared up here to get ready for trackwork.

The next few shots are of the future Laurier/Waterloo Park (Seagram) station.

 

[P0per]

Since this is the ION thread.... Pretty much all construction complete for the "BRT" portion in Cambridge.

Southbound stop at Hespeler Road and Eagle/Pinebush, far side stop, south of Eagle (presumably to allow for conversion to LRT stop, as the LRT will run along Eagle).
Untitled by ION Construction, on Flickr

Northbound stop at Hespeler Road and Eagle/Pinebush. Note the transit priority signal. The bus blocks the right-turn lane while stopped, and is almost certain to be at the head of the queue. The transit signal allows it to leave the stop and easily get to the 401 Westbound ramp. Not a bad system.
Untitled by ION Construction, on Flickr

Another view of Northbound stop at Hespeler Road and Eagle/Pinebush. iExpress/ION busses no longer pass through Smartcentre, making transfer to GO bus a pain (local 51 busses still are routed through Smartcentre.
Untitled by ION Construction, on Flickr

iExpress/ION Busses still stop at Cambridge Centre terminal. Preferred route has LRT stopping < 5 minutes away at Hespeler/Dunbar.
Untitled by ION Construction, on Flickr

Southbound, far-side stop at Canamera.
Untitled by ION Construction, on Flickr

Another transit priority light at Munch, where right-turn only lane ends (busses permitted to continue straight).
Untitled by ION Construction, on Flickr

Third southbound transit-priority stop at the Delta. Bus-only lane in front of the stop gets priority.
Untitled by ION Construction, on Flickr

Northbound stop at the Delta.
Untitled by ION Construction, on Flickr

That's the extent of the updates in Cambridge.

What types of signalling/detection are used to allow the bus to be detected?