VAUGHAN, ON, April 24, 2014 /CNW/ - As part of the York Viva
Bus Rapid Transit (vivaNext) rapidway project on Highway 7 West in
the City of Vaughan, construction
has started on the south side of the Canadian National Railway [CN]
MacMillan Bridge, located west of
Keele Street. The bridge surface will be widened approximately
8-metres to accommodate dedicated rapidway lanes, sidewalks and
bicycle lanes, and is expected to be complete in 2016.
The bridge provides vehicle access over the CN MacMillan Rail
Yard, the largest rail yard in Canada. Named after former CN president,
Norman John MacMillan, the yard
measures approximately 6.5-kilometres in length and 1.6-kilometres
in width and was developed in the late 1950s as part of CN's
redesign of the Toronto trackage
network. The yard operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and
handles over 1 million railcars per year to service local
businesses in the Vaughan area, as
well as the broader North American economy.
As part of the bridge widening, construction activities include:
removing the existing walls and sidewalks on the south side and
backfilling with 8,000 tonnes of earth; pouring 4,000 tonnes of
concrete to build walls, columns, sidewalks and bridge decks;
embedding 300 tonnes of reinforcing steel and completing the
surface finish with new light standards and pedestrian hand
rails.
During construction, rail yard operations along the 10 sets of
tracks will be maintained, and the contractor will work closely
with CN to coordinate activities around train schedules. The
majority of the construction activity will happen below and
underneath the bridge. Motorists will notice large equipment and
construction vehicles such as large cranes, transport trucks, drill
rigs and concrete pump trucks onsite for certain operations,
including sub-surface drilling, pouring concrete and the
installation of large pre-cast concrete sections.
In order to maintain traffic flow along Highway 7 during
construction, the centre median was removed earlier this year and
traffic was shifted to the north side of the bridge. To further
minimize disruptions, an access road off of Highway 7 is also being
constructed for equipment and deliveries. Due to the nature of this
work, there will be noise and vibration around the work area. Noise
and vibration monitoring will be conducted to ensure levels are
kept within industry standards.
The first phase of the Highway 7 West rapidway in the
City of Vaughan will extend 3.6
kilometres from Interchange Way/Edgeley Boulevard to east of Bowes
Road. The project features three new rapidway vivastations, wider
sidewalks, landscaped boulevards and transit connections to the
Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension and the York Region Transit Bus Terminal. As
development and density continues in downtown Vaughan, the Highway 7 West rapidway will help
create new destinations to live, work, shop and play.
As part of its currently funded projects, vivaNext is building
approximately 35 kilometres of bus rapidways with 38 stations, an
8.6 km subway extension with six stations, an operations facility,
two bus terminals and multiple park 'n ride facilities over the
next five years across York Region. Combined with more mixed-use
development along the Region's major corridors, these projects are
supporting population and economic growth, while creating more
inviting and welcoming places for generations to come.
The York Viva BRT project represents a $1.4 billion ($2009) transit infrastructure investment from
the Government of Ontario, and is
an example of The Big Move in action - Metrolinx's 25-year
plan for an integrated and sustainable transit and transportation
system in the GTHA. The project is being implemented by Metrolinx,
an agency of the Province of Ontario. For more information about Metrolinx,
visit metrolinx.com.
York Region Rapid Transit Corporation (YRRTC) is responsible for
the planning, design and construction of the full vivaNext rapid
transit network and related infrastructure to deliver on the
transit priorities set out in the York Region Transportation Master
Plan. YRRTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary and share capital
corporation of The Regional Municipality of York. The vivaNext plan is a key component of
the vision outlined by Ontario's
Places to Grow Act, which aims to manage growth in a sustainable
and environmentally-friendly way that enriches communities. For
more information, please visit vivanext.com.
SOURCE Metrolinx vivaNext