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

[Platinum107]

I love seeing THIS! I can't believe after so long it's really starting to come together, and I can't wait to ride the first train this time next year

 

[ronron]

^ No kidding. I'm glad the 102 street - 102 ave stop is finally taking shape. They are putting in rebar for the track portion the last few days. That section was a field of dirt the entire summer last year.

 

[Platinum107]

Some car-view pictures I took yesterday.

95th ave in Strathern coming along nicely-track beds are all pretty much in place south of the river.

Hollyrood Gardens crane in view ?

Bonnie Doon Mall

83rd street going to Argyll

flyover @Argyll

Davies Station coming along very nicely-still a shame that it’s in a area where its Glory won’t be appreciated much ?.

Elevated track is awesome!

Quick shot of the OMF- no wild LRV’s in sight?

Mill Woods section is the farthest along of course - tracks are done for the most part and they’ve started on landscaping ??

The last stop on the line, Millwoods Town Centre

Finally, construction has started on the new bus transit centre!

Cool view of the future covered walkway

 

[Kaizen]

Nicely done @Platinum107, excellent photo tour!
It is so nice to see this leg of the LRT getting closer and closer to completion. I am almost 100% sure I will be selling my motor vehicles next year and become a full-time transit & petal power commuter. I live just about a block east of the intersection (76 Ave/83 St) in your fourth picture, so about a 2-minute leisurely stroll to the Avonmore Station. I can't wait for that first test run next year.

 

[MCXavierL]

Kâhasinîskâk Pedestrian Bridge

Tawatinâ Bridge

 

[quit]

Apparently there is a rumour floating around that they are significantly out on the grade at 83 St and Whyte Ave. Wonder what the remedy will be.

 

[Daveography]

@westcoastjos where did you hear that?

 

[Daveography]

Wow, photos don't do justice to how imposing the station is from 75 Street.

 

[ronron]

Wow, photos don't do justice to how imposing the station is from 75 Street.

No kidding, totally agree. Felt the same way when I drove by and saw in person for the first time (month or two ago) ?.

 

[quit]

@westcoastjos where did you hear that?

Through a structural engineer friend that is in the know with other engineers (I presume it is a fairly small circle of people in Edmonton) over drinks on the weekend. We were talking about the LRT and she said she had heard through a colleague that the grade was out a foot or so at that intersection. Not surprising really - whenever you drive west to east or the other way around, it always did seem like quite the bump.

Another guy I know that is doing the steel for the ID Tower B did a lot of the steel for this, specifically Davies Station - says it is very over engineered and that there have been several change orders over the course of the project that were not necessary.

Honestly, hearing this type of stuff from completely different sources/industries makes me wonder about the why the project is behind schedule. I know the public version is weather and the block in the river, but I am sure there are other factors we never hear about.

Is it hearsay? Absolutely. Is there truth to it? I would imagine the answer is yes as well, but of course, take it with a grain of salt.

 

[chrisvazquez7]

I’m not doubting what your source is telling you, but most of the road crossings still need their final lift of asphalt so it won’t be level yet.

I definitely agree with the over engineering part. The elevated sections are so bulky compared to other elevated mass transit lines.

 

[quit]

I’m not doubting what your source is telling you, but most of the road crossings still need their final lift of asphalt so it won’t be level yet.

I definitely agree with the over engineering part. The elevated sections are so bulky compared to other elevated mass transit lines.

Yep. Almost all of them do. That was part of the conversation and potential problem of this one intersection. How do you bring it to proper grade when it is that far out relative to what is normal. I mean, they could just settle for a higher grade for the west/east travel and deal with the drainage as you get further away. I don't know what the cheaper solution is or if it becomes more about the quicker solution at this point. That was largely the issue with the steel changes - they went for speed efficiency vs cost efficiency. Project management is generally never black and white, especially on a project this big. There are going to be issues.

 

[darwink]

I definitely agree with the over engineering part. The elevated sections are so bulky compared to other elevated mass transit lines.

This is a typical feature of P3 projects, as the builder is the maintainer, and the builder's goal is lowest cost over the term, not just the lowest upfront cost to win the construction contract or to fit the government's immediate budget constraint.

 

[Kaizen]

Kahasiniskak pedestrian bridge,


Muttard stop


Ramp to Tawatinâ Bridge

 

[Kaizen]

An afterthought,
I was noticing how funky the North bank stabilization Geotech forms look at this stage of development. That's a fairly extensive site plan, and hopefully not a "slippery slope" anymore.