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

^one thing to add to this:
I have heard on good authority that the city is being quite conservative with time estimates (as mentioned) and also, the phasing of the project is up to the contractor. The Valley Line SE was built all at once, but the West might not be. Not knowing much about this World Cup Bid (i don't follow sports sorry) so not knowing the venues, it is conceiveable that the line is built in sections from say, DT to 149, 149 to West Ed, and West Ed to Lewis Estates is completed last. This could improve the timeline for the event as well. IDK, i am speculating here about how phasing could work, but i do know that the city is allowing contractors to plan that aspect, and is not ruling out building section by section if the logistics are better.
The matches will take place in the Commonwealth, obviously. I'm assuming the main FIFA Fan Fest will be in the Churchill Square and, possibly, they'll have one in the WEM parking lot, given how spread the city is.

The stadium will need upgrades to meet FIFA's criteria for attendance, particularly, the surroundings, where they usually have activities during the game days, and I believe that the whole project for the city will be disclosed as soon as FIFA formally announces the host cities, as it's one of their requiremente that it's made public.

Hopefully, it will include finishing the Valley Line West, hahaha
 
I sure hope that the World Cup discussion comes up at some point! IMO It's going to be so important that the line is done by the 2026 deadline, and not just for connecting WEM alone. Having the four main "legs" stretching out from downtown will be crucial in creating ease-of-access for the thousands of visitors that will come to our city.
I agree with you entirety, and I honestly believe the World Cup is going to be the biggest opportunity for Edmonton to retake its place, of not in the global stage, at least in the North American.

If we "milk" this opportunity well, it's going to pay dividends for generations, as it won't be as expensive as the Olympics and, even though it will be shorter for us, it has much more visibility in the media, more merchandise associated with the event and the very nature of the thing allows for more tourism interaction from the visitors, as the four games should span roughly 10 to 12 days.
 
I biked along the line today. It's looking really good, they are making good progress. i was impressed with the number of workers on site along the line, even on a Sunday afternoon. There are only a few places without rails, and only 1 (one) place where track bed has yet to be poured, at the top of Connor's Road. I don't wanna bog the thread down with a bunch of random photos, but here's some highlights:
Starting Downtown, the line shaping up, with track bed poured, most rails installed, and most stops being poured. notably, the 102 Street Stop is shaping up well, with the Westbound platform mostly in-place. I think things are mostly in place, but there's no spot for any buffers/wheelstops/train-stoppy-thingies yet. also, 102 Ave is being dug up to 103 Street.
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The Quarters Stop is being poured, and tracks are being put in place across 96 street. 102 Ave is being put back together, the new brickwork is like 40% done maybe?
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Of course, as we all know, the bridge is done! the tarps are off the crawlers, and the mech shed thingy on top of bank is coming along well. there is a massive amount of conduit running out of there!
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The Muttart stop is about as complete as the downtown area, and track is being laid up Connor's Hill. here's the 1 (one) gap in the track bed left:
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Most of the stops south of the river have shelters in place, and are in varying states of construction above the platform slab. caternary poles are being installed almost everywhere from 95 Ave onwards to Davies. Also, the Bonny Doon stop, which appears to be the farthest along, has both roofing on the shelters, and glazing being installed!
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Avonmore is coming along nicely, the whole line in this area is only missing odd bits of concrete, landscaping. caternary poles are in place in most places here, and the Whyte Ave intersection is almost done. moving along to Davies Station, the building is largely done, glazing is being installed on the building, the parking lot is also starting to appear, with storm ponds almost complete and curbs appearing.
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Moving south, 75 Street is coming along decently, the Viaduct looks almost complete. The road is still a mess, with the East side hidden behind barricades, pipes, drains, and curbs slowly appearing. the MUP along here is nowhere to be found (made biking difficult, I had to ride through a loooot of parking lots still lol. There was not much to see with the garage. it looks largely complete, I saw some new lightpoles, but still not much caternary wires. The path across the Whitemud is super nice. when it's done it'll be super wide.
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i guess i'm gonna do a part 2 for this?
 
part 2:
66 Street South of Whitemud is looking good! the track is pretty much done, the stops here are almost complete. 66 Street is still a bit of a mess. the MUP is again, not started yet, the East Side (NB, along the tracks) of the road is still being built. the grades between the two sides are really different in grade. repaving those intersections is gonna be odd i bet. Note the new light poles! the straight arms with small gusset are nice and clean looking!
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The Mill Woods Stop is coming along well. The island platform is huge, comparable to the high-floor lines. it looks good. The End of of the line is in place, and a lot of the concrete and curbs are in place on 28 Ave, although, again, the sidewalks are a 'work in progress'.
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lastly, the tie-in to the new Mill Woods Transit Centre. the 'Urban Transit loggia' (I'm making up names because it's wierd and deserves a weird name) it lines up with the middle of the platform for the train (ie not at a crosswalk, which is gonna pan out wonderfully i'm sure) This element is coming along, although it isn't as far along as the LRT.
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Also, i am once again mentioning the mystery bits hidden in the trees by Wagner High School. I am now fully convinced of a conspiracy. there are two sections of what i beleive to be viaduct. they are both still just rebar. One appears to be double-width, the other single. They are almost underneath the line, which is complete as far as track bed, so idk what these are. here's some pics.
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Wow, the updates and the pictures look great. I have to admit I forgot about this site after C2E shut down. I'm disappointed a bit because I've been taking pictures all this time too but didn't have anywhere to post. Anyways great shots and hopefully my future contribution will begin to flow.

On another note, has anyone heard of timelines for any intersection final realignment at 28ave, 34ave and 38ave. There are lots of curbs that were poured the past week and I'm hopeful that they will get another lane paved yhis week but I am curious how much of the roadwork between MTC and Wagner will be completed before the snow flies.
 
As another C2E alumni member, I’m quite impressed with the Skyrise Edmonton forum. As far as the Valley Line LRT goes, I like the progress that’s been made despite some of the earlier setbacks. I’m guessing that almost all of the roadwork and trackwork will be done by November. I wonder when the commissioning of the line will begin.
 
I don't have pictures, but driving to work today, I saw them laying the tracks on Connor's Road. Also, Bonnie Doon is looking good, I believe that they're going to open one of the lanes that are currently blocked by construction next week.
83rd avenue is coming along nicely and very fast. I've been taking the longer way to work every day just to follow the construction in this segment and they're progressing a lot faster than I'd expect, particularly in the past 2 or 3 weeks, it's been really speedy.
 

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