Valley Line LRT | ?m | ?s | City of Edmonton

[The_Cat]

The piers were constructed around 2017, some of the earliest concrete construction. The concrete block was discovered in 2018, Is it possible that concrete contractors changed at this time?

 

[BASE]

@BASE the steel "supports", as you call them, are structural jacks designed to lift the load off of the reinforced concrete piers so that the faulty piers can be removed or upgraded. The steel jacks are only temporary.

I am referring to the belt fixes they referenced in the most recent video which sound like they are fairly permanent.

 

[westcoastjos]

The piers were constructed around 2017, some of the earliest concrete construction. The concrete block was discovered in 2018, Is it possible that concrete contractors changed at this time?

Bridge was likely a different contractor altogether compared to the others.

 

[northlands]

American Bridge was contracted by TransEd to build the tawatina bridge.

 

[cpnfantstk]

I am referring to the belt fixes they referenced in the most recent video which sound like they are fairly permanent.

The guy in the video mentioned that the final design of the piers would be discussed with city management. Maybe those steel belts can be covered with more concrete creating a more uniform looking designed pier. No way would I accept anything less. Has to look like a finished product.

 

[kcantor]

The guy in the video mentioned that the final design of the piers would be discussed with city management. Maybe those steel belts can be covered with more concrete creating a more uniform looking designed pier. No way would I accept anything less. Has to look like a finished product.

the problem with that is that you could then no longer visually monitor the performance/status of the original pier concrete to know if your repair fix was actually repairing/fixing the original problem or just hiding it…

 

[David A]

The guy in the video mentioned that the final design of the piers would be discussed with city management. Maybe those steel belts can be covered with more concrete creating a more uniform looking designed pier. No way would I accept anything less. Has to look like a finished product.

I think this is an important point. If you took your car to get repaired, you wouldn't want them just taping over the cracked part of the bumper.

Steel belts were not part of what they originally promised. Fix it up to the standard promised or redo it.

 

[edmontonidiot]

the problem with that is that you could then no longer visually monitor the performance/status of the original pier concrete to know if your repair fix was actually repairing/fixing the original problem or just hiding it…

I'm not sure if they will be relying on visual inspection to ensure the piers are structurally sound. It looks like they only became aware the piers weren't structurally adequate, after inspecting the surface cracks. The video above with the spokesperson described the surface cracking as minor and expected, as if they were separate issues.

I'm curious they will use concrete specific nondestructive testing to evaluate the piers instead.

 

[IanO]

'Minor' - ha

What a beautiful looking remedial solution for the COE and its citizens to live with.

 

[edmontonidiot]

'Minor' - ha
View attachment 440381

What a beautiful looking remedial solution for the COE and its citizens to live with.
View attachment 440382

I'm not saying their assertion is correct, but surface and subsurface cracking aren't necessary related, nor may result in the same outcome (service failure). It might not look pretty, but it could be okay.

I used to inspect rail. A reverse detail fracture is a defect that starts in the gauge side of a rail head. It can grow from 5% of the rail head to service failure (train derailment) overnight, meanwhile you massive longitudinal defects gone unnoticed for months that somehow don't result in service failure.

I agree their solution sucks though. It looks horrid.

 

[dkazzed]

the problem with that is that you could then no longer visually monitor the performance/status of the original pier concrete to know if your repair fix was actually repairing/fixing the original problem or just hiding it…

Reminds me of bandaid fixes on Ponte Morandi in Italy 25 years prior to its fatal collapse.

Ponte Morandi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[The_Cat]

TransEd better get this right or there could be another downgrade by DBRS.

 

[cpnfantstk]

TransEd better get this right or there could be another downgrade by DBRS.

"DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) downgraded the Issuer Rating of TransEd Partners General Partnership (ProjectCo) and the rating on its Series A Bonds to BB while maintaining its status as Under Review with Negative Implications"
Continued in link below. (Their press release from November 3, 2022) . Interesting and distrurbing at the same time.

DBRS Morningstar Downgrades TransEd Partners General Partnership

 

[The_Cat]

Valley Line update: http://transedlrt.ca/updates/follow-the-latest-updates-on-the-valley-line-southeast/

 

[Stevey_G]

The city better not accept that solution of applying tension to the piers as a form of belting and nobody better see that as a finished product.

Anything short of replacing the piers is unacceptable in my books and whichever engineer has stamped those construction drawings has a lot of explaining to do.

Never would I have guessed it was freaking rebar they cheaper out on for ELEVATED RAIL.