laval Station Sainte-Dorothée - Discussion

[eastender85]

REM stations in Ste-Dorothée and Île Bigras delayed until 2024

 

 

Pandemic, tunnel snafus, set back finishing $6.5 billion light-rail project

Residents of Laval who are looking forward to getting aboard one of the Réseau express métropolitain’s new rapid transit trains at future Laval REM stations in Sainte-Dorothée and on Île Bigras will have to wait another four years, according to REM officials who delivered a progress report last week on the multi-billion-dollar project.

During an online meeting with media, CDPQ Infra and REM project managers went over the work completed in 2020. They presented a revised schedule that takes into account the impact of COVID-19, as well as two major issues identified as problematic in the Mount Royal Tunnel during its modernization for REM train traffic.

Valuable time lost

REM construction is spread out over more than 20 construction sites across the greater Montreal region, with more than 2,000 workers and professionals on the job. According to CDPQ Infra, major milestones were reached in 2020, with the launch of Alice – a tunnel boring machine – toward the airport and the arrival of the first four REM cars.

THE REM SEGMENT UP TO DEUX-MONTAGNES, WHICH INCLUDES REM STATIONS IN SAINTE-DOROTHÉE AND ON ÎLE BIGRAS, WILL ONLY BE PUT INTO SERVICE IN THE FALL OF 2024, INSTEAD OF LATE 2023

Following a COVID-19-related analysis conducted in the last few months, said REM officials, a work shutdown period in early spring, with the implementation of health measures due to the pandemic, together with the impact on the mobility of a specialized workforce, and the impact on the supply chain, resulted in an overall delay of approximately three to six months for all REM construction sites.

Making up for lost time

CDPQ Infra says teams are working diligently to find ways to make up for lost time. While the pandemic is still ongoing, the company says the REM project office continues to closely monitor the situation with relevant authorities.

According to the company, the complete closure of the Mount Royal Tunnel last May made it possible to begin construction work required to modernize the century-old tunnel and add two stations in the heart of Mount Royal. However, acquiring full and safe access to the tunnel led the construction crews to identify two major and unforeseen safety issues.

Tunnel incident last July

On July 20, as excavations began inside the Mount Royal Tunnel, an unexpected detonation occurred. Work was immediately suspended and no workers were injured, said the company. However, an investigation and enquiry revealed the most likely cause was that REM workers had inadvertently hit upon an old bore hole containing an explosive charge dating back to tunnel construction in 1912.

In conjunction with experts and researchers, strict measures, approved by the Commission des normes de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), were established in order to safely resume the tunnel work in early November, said CDPQ Infra. The measures included observing worker exclusion zones during drilling activities and using remote-controlled equipment to ensure the safety of all on-site personnel.

Salt damaged tunnel

But that was not all. While conducting inspections in the tunnel in downtown Montreal, the teams also noted extensive structural degradation of the tunnel walls. Since no waterproofing membranes had been applied over the years, it was noted that de-icing salts used on McGill College Avenue above had infiltrated the concrete and corroded steel columns and beams in the vault, creating an advanced state of decay.

The company said the deterioration called for immediate measures to avoid potential risks to the structural integrity of McGill College Avenue and required major reinforcement work. The tunnel will therefore be reinforced from the inside to ensure it remains structurally sound.

Laval REM stops delayed

CDPQ Infra says the safety issues that arose in the Mount Royal Tunnel are not only slowing activities due to the strict safety measures to be used for drilling 30,000 planned bore holes, but also due to the added task of reinforcing the southern section of the tunnel. Therefore, the REM segment between Central Station and Du Ruisseau Station will only be opened in the fall of 2023, rather than spring 2022.

The company says the delayed work at the Mount Royal Tunnel will also affect opening the West Island, Deux-Montagnes and airport branches, since the tunnel lies in the central segment. The completed REM segment up to Deux-Montagnes, which includes REM stations in Sainte-Dorothée and on Île Bigras, will thus only be put into service in the fall of 2024, rather than at the end of 2023 as previously planned.

https://www.lavalnews.ca/rem-stations-in-ste-dorothee-and-ile-bigras-delayed-until-2024/?amp=1

 

[Nameless_1]

Le 2020-11-22 à 23:03, eastender85 a dit :

REM stations in Ste-Dorothée and Île Bigras delayed until 2024

 

 

Pandemic, tunnel snafus, set back finishing $6.5 billion light-rail project

Residents of Laval who are looking forward to getting aboard one of the Réseau express métropolitain’s new rapid transit trains at future Laval REM stations in Sainte-Dorothée and on Île Bigras will have to wait another four years, according to REM officials who delivered a progress report last week on the multi-billion-dollar project.

During an online meeting with media, CDPQ Infra and REM project managers went over the work completed in 2020. They presented a revised schedule that takes into account the impact of COVID-19, as well as two major issues identified as problematic in the Mount Royal Tunnel during its modernization for REM train traffic.

Valuable time lost

REM construction is spread out over more than 20 construction sites across the greater Montreal region, with more than 2,000 workers and professionals on the job. According to CDPQ Infra, major milestones were reached in 2020, with the launch of Alice – a tunnel boring machine – toward the airport and the arrival of the first four REM cars.

THE REM SEGMENT UP TO DEUX-MONTAGNES, WHICH INCLUDES REM STATIONS IN SAINTE-DOROTHÉE AND ON ÎLE BIGRAS, WILL ONLY BE PUT INTO SERVICE IN THE FALL OF 2024, INSTEAD OF LATE 2023

Following a COVID-19-related analysis conducted in the last few months, said REM officials, a work shutdown period in early spring, with the implementation of health measures due to the pandemic, together with the impact on the mobility of a specialized workforce, and the impact on the supply chain, resulted in an overall delay of approximately three to six months for all REM construction sites.

Making up for lost time

CDPQ Infra says teams are working diligently to find ways to make up for lost time. While the pandemic is still ongoing, the company says the REM project office continues to closely monitor the situation with relevant authorities.

According to the company, the complete closure of the Mount Royal Tunnel last May made it possible to begin construction work required to modernize the century-old tunnel and add two stations in the heart of Mount Royal. However, acquiring full and safe access to the tunnel led the construction crews to identify two major and unforeseen safety issues.

Tunnel incident last July

On July 20, as excavations began inside the Mount Royal Tunnel, an unexpected detonation occurred. Work was immediately suspended and no workers were injured, said the company. However, an investigation and enquiry revealed the most likely cause was that REM workers had inadvertently hit upon an old bore hole containing an explosive charge dating back to tunnel construction in 1912.

In conjunction with experts and researchers, strict measures, approved by the Commission des normes de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), were established in order to safely resume the tunnel work in early November, said CDPQ Infra. The measures included observing worker exclusion zones during drilling activities and using remote-controlled equipment to ensure the safety of all on-site personnel.

Salt damaged tunnel

But that was not all. While conducting inspections in the tunnel in downtown Montreal, the teams also noted extensive structural degradation of the tunnel walls. Since no waterproofing membranes had been applied over the years, it was noted that de-icing salts used on McGill College Avenue above had infiltrated the concrete and corroded steel columns and beams in the vault, creating an advanced state of decay.

The company said the deterioration called for immediate measures to avoid potential risks to the structural integrity of McGill College Avenue and required major reinforcement work. The tunnel will therefore be reinforced from the inside to ensure it remains structurally sound.

Laval REM stops delayed

CDPQ Infra says the safety issues that arose in the Mount Royal Tunnel are not only slowing activities due to the strict safety measures to be used for drilling 30,000 planned bore holes, but also due to the added task of reinforcing the southern section of the tunnel. Therefore, the REM segment between Central Station and Du Ruisseau Station will only be opened in the fall of 2023, rather than spring 2022.

The company says the delayed work at the Mount Royal Tunnel will also affect opening the West Island, Deux-Montagnes and airport branches, since the tunnel lies in the central segment. The completed REM segment up to Deux-Montagnes, which includes REM stations in Sainte-Dorothée and on Île Bigras, will thus only be put into service in the fall of 2024, rather than at the end of 2023 as previously planned.

https://www.lavalnews.ca/rem-stations-in-ste-dorothee-and-ile-bigras-delayed-until-2024/?amp=1

 

Bad news for the REM then. I expected much better.

[felixinx]

Rendu architectural

[Philippe]

La vieille station de train ( voie, trottoir, caténaires,  abri, passage à niveaux, etc) a été rasée cette semaine.  Je n'ai pas de photos mais mise à part quelques tas de ferrailles, il n'y a pas grand chose à voir.. 

 

 

[Philippe]

Le site de la future station

[Né entre les rapides]

Le 2020-11-25 à 00:04, Nameless_1 a dit :

Bad news for the REM then. I expected much better.

This also illustrates the limitations of the capacity of the global infrastructure building industry in the Montreal area.  Despite attempts to "making out for lost time" (due to the pandemics and other unexpected problems), important delays remain.   I would not be surprised if other major projects such as the extension of the blue line of the metro, as well as the announced REM de l'Est, are likewise affected, even if actual construction takes place well after the end of the pandemics.  Expect more of the same for other projects which at this stage are merely being contemplated.  

A fine counter-example of the above was the construction of the new Samuel-de-Champlain bridge. But a key difference was involved:  many of the components of the new bridge were fabricated elsewhere, and the installation also made use of out-of-town  businesses.  Costs were higher than planned, but the threat of heavy penalties in case of delay made it worthwhile to incurr the associated additional costs.

For the (original) REM project, I am not aware of a penalty clause in case of delay, but an obvious consequence is that the operating revenues will be affected for a certain period of time.  No allocation appears to be made for the extended loss of time for the users.  

All of this reminds me of a metaphor that I particularly enjoy: imagine your car (or your horse!) is feeble; you want it to draw a charge double the weight of its nominal capacity, so you're pressing the gas pedal to the bottom (or feeding the horse twice its normal portion) in the hope that it will move!  -- Guess what, it won't work, or not for long I can assure you.  It is the same for pouring tens of billions of dollars into new infrastructure projects and expecting that everything will go according to plan.  You will certainly spur inflated costs, but not much more output, until capacity is increased*.  Of course, things are different when there is a lot of idle capacity, same with a big truck that was previously used primarily as a passenger car carrying a single person.

* Thankfully, it's coming.  As a (distant) proxy, I am using the stock price of Caterpillar Inc. over the last year: 116,48 USD on April 14, 2020; 229,35 USD today.  The implications should be obvious to everyone.

 

[Philippe]

Nouvelle rue du chemin de fer et futur site de la station. L'excavation semble près d'être terminé. 

[Philippe]

Fondation

[Philippe]

Ca monte rapidement

[SameGuy]

Link please.