On October 6, Ottawa-Carleton Transportation Commission (OC Transpo) will reorganise bus routes across the city to simplify the network and provide frequent connections to Line 1.
Construction on the $C 2.1bn ($US 1.6bn) scheme, described as Ottawa’s largest-ever public works project, began in 2013 and was carried out by Rideau Transit Group with partners ACS Infrastructure Canada, Ellis-Don and SNC-Lavalin.
The line was originally planned to open last year, but progress was delayed by construction problems including the appearance of a sink hole above the 1.5km tunnel in the city centre. The rest of the line is above ground, and mainly follows a former busway which was constructed on an abandoned railway. Line 1 has 13 stations including an interchange with the Trillium diesel LRT line at Bayview.
The city plans to extend Line 1 12.5km east from Blair to Place d’Orléans and Trim with five stations and 15km west from Tunney’s Pasture to Moodie Drive with a branch to Algonquin, adding 11 stations.
The cost of Stage 2 is estimated at $C 4.66bn. East-West Connectors, a consortium of Kiewit and Vinci, was selected by the City of Ottawa in February to design, build and finance the extension.
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