Ottawans are getting closer to city-wide transit connectivity, with the LRT East extensions undergoing final work and the West end construction well underway, the Ottawa Transit Committee heard this week.
In a report to the committee, OC Transpo said the O-Train Confederation Line, which runs east-to-west, is nearing completion of the final construction and testing phases in the east extension, which will extend the track to Trim Road. The extension project is adding a total of 24 stations, 44 kilometres of rail and 45 new trains to the existing network.
The East extension will add five stations at Montréal Road, Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard, Convent Glen, Place d’Orléans and Trim Road. Currently, the extension in the East end is undergoing train testing and operator training, as well as completion of surrounding infrastructure, like the Trim Park and Ride lot and paving of Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard.
Before opening for service, the track must reach substantial completion, followed by trial running before final safety approval.
In the West, the LRT has been expanded out to Moodie Drive with train testing anticipated to begin later in the spring on a small section of track. Rail installation is nearly complete and station construction is still underway and is on track to reach final stages in 2026.
During the construction of both extensions, there have been periodic lane and ramp closures on surrounding roads, which Bay Ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh said has caused increased traffic and congestion and “major fallouts” in her ward.
She commended the LRT Stage 2 team for their support, but said she wanted to acknowledge the “consequential effects” of the ongoing work, which includes the reconstruction of Richmond Road and construction of seven LRT stations within Bay Ward.
“It’s been very impactful to those businesses, and we’ve even had one that left the area because of it,” she told the committee and its participants. “I just want an acknowledgement that this has been problematic, and hopefully we’ll be seeing the end of it with a wonderfully new, reconstructed Richmond Road by the end of this year.”
In an interview with Ottawa Compass, Kavanagh said the construction has had a “tremendous” impact on her ward and that the excitement of the LRT extension “hasn’t quite set in.”
“This has been going on for five years, so it’s not something that just started,” she explained.
The section of track in Bay ward is a “cut and cover tunnel” that required deep trenches dug “right in people’s backyards,” as Kavanagh explained. The tunnels have been completed now, but the construction is also aligning with the resurfacing of Richmond Road, which has resulted in more digging.
“Digging is very, very difficult for people to deal with because it means closed roads, noise, mess, and that had a huge impact,” she said.
The proximity of the track will ultimately result in a more integrated transit system that can bring passengers into the heart of the neighbourhoods in the west end. But the process to get there isn’t comfortable.
“I don’t think the excitement is palatable yet, but I think the [South extension] helped people to envision that there’s something new is coming. it’s just starting to sink in,” she explained. “But part two of it is that there’s more development around as well, so that construction will continue.
“You’ll have new buildings being put up because we’re intensifying around the stations. So, while it’s not related directly to the LRT, it’s related to the fact that there will be a station there,” Kavanagh continued. “So, they’re quite aware that that construction will be happening.”
It’s expected that East-West Connections (EWC), the company contracted to build and operate the Confederation Line extensions, will hand the West extension over to the City for trial running by the end of 2026.
Both extensions have been designed, built and financed by EWC and owned by the City of Ottawa but will be maintained by Rideau Transit Group (RTG).
The progress on the East and West extension follows the opening of the O-Train south extension, which provides service to the Ottawa International Airport and Limebank Road.
In March 2019, City Council approved the Stage 2 Light Rail Transit Project, including a contingency fund of $152.5 million, reflecting approximately 3.3 per cent of the $4.6 billion project budget.
Then, on July 6, 2022, City Council approved the Stage 2 LRT Contingency Funding Report for an adjustment to the budget with an increase of $35 million for increased utility costs and $25 million for an increase to the general contingency budget. The overall contingency budget was increased to $177.6 million.
Since then, the project budget has been amended to $4.9 billion. Of that, $2.29 billion is funded through provincial and federal grants.
