Toronto Crosstown LRT | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | Arcadis

[W. K. Lis]

A rolling cut and cover project would be even worse in terms of impacting traffic. Just imagine scenes of Bathurst and Eglinton, or Leslie and Eglinton. Then multiply that 100 times over the entire stretch of Eglinton and that's what we'd be seeing right now.

Add Crosslinx' inability to coordinate closures properly and the end result would be just nightmarish.

It is the sites where there are the station boxes (and emergency exits) are located where the most impact is happening on traffic. Which also happens to be where the main intersections are located. There were utility cuts for sewers, watermains, communication conduits, and electrical conduits that have to be relocated or rebuilt, whether tracks will be at the surface, above ground, or below ground.

 

[crs1026]

A rolling cut and cover project would be even worse in terms of impacting traffic. Just imagine scenes of Bathurst and Eglinton, or Leslie and Eglinton. Then multiply that 100 times over the entire stretch of Eglinton and that's what we'd be seeing right now.

Add Crosslinx' inability to coordinate closures properly and the end result would be just nightmarish.

I wonder if each block of residents and merchants would prefer six months of total shutdown versus several years of 1,000 paper cuts.

- Paul

 

[BurlOak]

I do hope there is a lot of reflection at the technical level when this project is done. One wonders why we would ever deep-tunnel again, instead of a rolling shallow cut and cover project that attacks from one end and creeps block by block, minimising the time that any one block or section is badly impacted.

- Paul

The whole street has been a war zone for a long time now. Elevated also minimizes the disruption nicely.
In the case of Eglinton, putting the ECLRT on the south side from Brentcliffe to Don Mills (even DVP) would have reduced disruption as well - including moving the station to the NW corner.

 

[BurlOak]

It is the sites where there are the station boxes (and emergency exits) are located where the most impact is happening on traffic. Which also happens to be where the main intersections are located. There were utility cuts for sewers, watermains, communication conduits, and electrical conduits that have to be relocated or rebuilt, whether tracks will be at the surface, above ground, or below ground.

And it's at the intersections where a ~10 metre deep station would be twice as fast as the current 25m ones.

 

[BurlOak]

I wonder if each block of residents and merchants would prefer six months of total shutdown versus several years of 1,000 paper cuts.

- Paul

I think 6 to 8 weeks is more realistic. And stations would take half as long as well (although decking is needed here and full closure is not an option).

 

[TransitBart]

That's low, even for you.

But funny. Everyone should google 'Darwin Awards' or click here. Hehe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Awards

 

[44 North]

A rolling cut and cover project would be even worse in terms of impacting traffic. Just imagine scenes of Bathurst and Eglinton, or Leslie and Eglinton. Then multiply that 100 times over the entire stretch of Eglinton and that's what we'd be seeing right now.

Add Crosslinx' inability to coordinate closures properly and the end result would be just nightmarish.

The idea though is that it's 'rolling'. So instead of the norm of 5, 10, 20km of heck for years. It'd be 250m-500m of hell for months (or weeks). Then that shifts over to the next 0.25km section. Maybe it's not in fact better. And it's hard to make comparisons to quick and dirty tactics from the 50s or 60s that had bare stations sans elevators. But it does seems like it makes sense. Very few drive Eglinton end-to-end today during construction. Having a rolling construction project wouldn't change things much in that regard.

 

[BurlOak]

The idea though is that it's 'rolling'. So instead of the norm of 5, 10, 20km of heck for years. It'd be 250m-500m of hell for months (or weeks). Then that shifts over to the next 0.25km section. Maybe it's not in fact better. And it's hard to make comparisons to quick and dirty tactics from the 50s or 60s that had bare stations sans elevators. But it does seems like it makes sense. Very few drive Eglinton end-to-end today during construction. Having a rolling construction project wouldn't change things much in that regard.

I was thinking of a shorter construction zone - maybe 100m - with 50m staging areas at either end. Operations would be 1) excavation and bedding, 2) laying precast tunnel (likely post-tensioned together), 3) waterproof roof and joints, 4) backfill and 5) pave. Each operation is about 20m long (8 precast tunnel segments laid in each operation) and it moves along at about 40m per week (maybe half the speed of a TBM). Thus, each area is closed for about 5 or 6 weeks. Of course emergency exits and stations need longer, and they would be decked over during construction as they would take 18 to 24 months.
Unlike TBM, it does not have to be continuous, so they could have multiple crews staggered by 4 kilometers (it's pretty basic work so finding multiple crews is not hard) working at about 2 km per year.

 

[Steve X]

I wonder if they are trying to get as much of the bigger intersections out of the way as possible before the summer ends. Once school starts, traffic picks up.

 

[Amare]

I wonder if they are trying to get as much of the bigger intersections out of the way as possible before the summer ends. Once school starts, traffic picks up.

We'd be giving Crosslinx way too much credit if they had that kind of clear thought process (which they have shown they dont have with consecutive intersection closings). In Warden's case, it wouldnt be ready until mid-September at the earliest if everything goes as planned. I'd pad an extra week or two for delays so that would push that intersection's completion off to late September.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

My biggest surprise was in the east, where in the above ground zone there seemed to be no order or logic to which sections were barely started, versus had the base layer poured, versus had track laid or in progress. I appreciate that preliminary work needs will vary by location.... all the same it seemed like the strategy was, tear up everywhere and leave it all a mess until each small bit is completed. I had expected more of a start at one end and gradually move along, leaving completed track and road as the work zone moved along.

That's exactly what I've been saying they have been doing work on the surface at random when what they should be doing is maybe have one or two crews work from each end one from Kebedy and one from Laird and then they meet up at the portholes for Since Centre. Instead, they have construction sites in different sates in each section for example at Victoria Park and Eglington to the east they are laying track and to the west, they don't even have the centre of the road ready for the track at all.

 

[Allandale25]

Flyover video

 

[Tunafish13]

Wow, great video, awesome progress.

Anyone know what the 2 structures are around Warden? Is the station there supposed to be covered?

 

[robmausser]

Flyover video

isnt it great how they put the LRT ROW in the middle of the road at Leslie, so trains will now have to stop and let cars turn left onto Leslie, instead of putting it on the south side of the street, where it would be unaffected by the intersection?

... F@&#ing morons man...

 

[cplchanb]

isnt it great how they put the LRT ROW in the middle of the road at Leslie, so trains will now have to stop and let cars turn left onto Leslie, instead of putting it on the south side of the street, where it would be unaffected by the intersection?

... F@&#ing morons man...

Dude, every other surface stop will be straddled by the road so I see no need to swivel the entire ROW for 1 small section of the route. It will also detrimentally affect traffic flow for both lrt and cars as they will have to slow down to negotiate the S bends.
If all the surface stops were lined up the same then fine, but its only for leslie.