Ottawa announces highlights of $700-million construction program
The City of Ottawa is forging ahead with another busy construction season.
It announced earlier this month that work is underway or about to begin on more than $700 million worth of infrastructure projects – water projects, roads, bridges and sidewalks, stormwater ponds, wastewater projects, and a sewage treatment facility.
Vision for cycling paths
One of the city’s near-term visions is to develop a citywide, connected network of cycling facilities for all types and ages of cyclists.
When construction for the Stage 2 Light Rail Transit (LRT) project is complete, it will deliver approximately 25 kilometres of new active transportation facilities for both pedestrians and cyclists.
Upon completion, the enhanced cycling facilities for the Laurier Avenue improvements project will separate cyclists from mixed traffic. This project will integrate cycling connections with the Mackenzie King Bridge via the Rideau Canal Eastern Pathway. It will also include safety measures such as separated signal phasing and protected intersection crossings.
Cycle tracks will also be built this year on other projects, including the Montreal Road revitalization, Albert, Queen, Slater, Bronson reconstruction, Dovercourt Avenue sidewalk and bike lanes implementation and more.
Stage 2 LRT (O-Train construction)
Work is well underway on the Stage 2 LRT project. This year, the city will continue construction to extend the O-Train to more communities farther east, west and south.
The O-Train East Extension will link Blair Station to Trim Road. The work will add 12 kilometres of rail and five new stations to the O-Train network at Montreal Road, Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard, Convent Glen, Place d’Orléans and Trim Road.
This year, crews will continue work in the Highway 174 median as they install track, connecting five new stations. Station construction has started on all new stations, and residents will see them take shape throughout the year. Crews will also install three new pedestrian bridges to enhance connectivity to the O-Train network.
The O-Train West Line, meanwhile, will extend from Westboro Station to Moodie Drive and Algonquin Station. The extension will add over 15 kilometres of new rail and 11 new stations. It also includes a light maintenance and storage facility, 10 new bridges, 14 rehabilitated bridges and two cut and cover tunnels.
This year, cut and cover tunnel construction of the Parkway and Connaught tunnels will continue, including excavation starting the cover work, which is a major milestone of the project.
The O-Train South Extension will run 12 kilometres through 11 stations, both new and existing, from Bayview Station to Limebank Road, and include 12 kilometres of new rail. An additional Airport Link will run from South Keys to the Ottawa International Airport.
This year will see station construction advance, more rail installed and the testing and commissioning of the new Stadler FLIRT vehicles.
The city has plans for several integrated road, sewer, water projects.
The Greenfield, Main, Hawthorne et. al reconstruction sees nearly $38 million invested to replace aging combined sewers with separate storm and sanitary sewers, sections of older watermains and reconstruct the roadways. Work is ongoing and is expected to be completed in 2024.
At approximately $43 million, the Albert, Queen, Slater, Bronson reconstruction will rehabilitate Albert Street (from Empress to Bay), Queen Street (from Bronson to Bay), Slater Street (from Empress to Bay) and Bronson Avenue (from Queen to Laurier). Work is ongoing and is expected to be completed in 2024.
Work this year includes road, sewer, watermain work on Albert and Slater streets between Bronson Avenue and Bay Street, and on Bronson Avenue between Albert and Slater streets.
The Montreal Road revitalization project, worth $64 million, will rebuild the street from Vanier Parkway to St. Laurent Boulevard, and a section of North River Road from Montreal Road to the North River Road cul-de-sac, began in 2019 and is expected to be completed this fall.
Work this year includes replacing underground infrastructure, including watermain, sections of sanitary sewer, storm sewer and the roadway, and constructing surface features, including concrete sidewalks, cycle tracks and landscaping.
The Strandherd Drive widening project is valued at $112 million and sees Strandherd Drive widened to a four-lane cross section from Maravista Drive to Jockvale Road in Barrhaven. The project includes a new overpass, constructed over the VIA Rail line, to provide safe passage for all road users across the train tracks. It will also facilitate the movement of cyclists and pedestrians through the corridor and provide the underground infrastructure to support growth.
Work this year includes: completing all underground work, building the westbound lanes and associated sidewalks and cycle tracks, and opening the bridge to traffic.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2023.
Improvements to Laurier Avenue call for the construction of two new protected intersections at Nicholas Street/Laurier Avenue and at Waller Street/Laurier Avenue. This project includes resurfacing work along the northbound lanes of Nicholas Street from Laurier Avenue to Besserer Street and a new bidirectional cycling facility and transit facilities on Waller Street.
The city also has plans to continue work on Ādisōke, the Ottawa Public Library – Library and Archives Canada Joint Facility. Valued at approximately $334 million and set to open in 2026, the building is a key part of Ottawa’s vision to be the most livable mid-size city in North America.
The iconic net-zero carbon building will feature shared spaces between the Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada as well as unique spaces for each.
Ādisōke, which is an Anishinābemowin word that refers to the telling of stories, represents one of the most inclusive and in-depth engagement processes for any public building in Canada. Residents, Indigenous Peoples, and Canadians from coast to coast were invited to participate in the design at every stage.
The city also plans to spend $10 million on improvements to City Hall, with work ongoing on such aspects as replacing portions of the roof, heating and cooling work, building a new after-hours entrance on Laurier Avenue, and various parking garage improvements.
It has also allocated $16 million to upgrade the Carlington Heights Pump Station. The work will improve the reliability of water supply to roughly one third of the City’s central water distribution system, and to provide additional capacity needed to accommodate future urban growth. The new pump station will be named the Morisset Avenue Pump Station.
Construction is planned to begin in fall 2022 and last for approximately two years.
Finally, the city has allocated nearly $40 million to work on two prominent bridge projects. One, valued at $22.6 million, will see a new multi-use pathway built on the existing inactive and retained Chief William Commanda Bridge and the rehabilitation of the substructure of the bridge itself. This work will include piers work, stone masonry repairs and repointing on abutments. The multi-use pathway will connect to the City of Ottawa’s Trillium Pathway to the south and the NCC Voyageurs’ Pathway in Gatineau to the north.
Construction began in 2021 and is ongoing. The multi-use pathway portion is expected to be completed by fall 2021, with full project completion by summer 2024.
The other project sees about $16.6 million invested to rehabilitate the Mackenzie King Bridge from the west end of the National Arts Centre at Elgin Street to the east end of the Rideau Centre crosswalk. This includes the rehabilitation of the joints, concrete repairs and other lifecycle renewal requirements, and the reconfiguration of the roadway from a four-lane road to a two-lane road, with cycle tracks and widened sidewalks.
Construction is expected to start in summer 2022 with final completion expected in fall 2024.