LRT Phase 2 – Confederation Line East Extension

The O-Train East extension will see LRT continue from Blair Road to Trim Road, adding 12.5 kilometres of rail and 5 new stations to the O-Train network at Montreal Road, Jeanne d’Arc, Orleans Boulevard, Place d’Orleans, and Trim Road. The east extension will travel predominantly within the median of OR 174.

One of the critical objectives in 2020 was the relocation of infrastructure, including various utilities such as sewers, hydro lines, watermains, natural gas and telecommunications infrastructure in the Highway 174 corridor at Green’s Creek, Jeanne d-Arc, Orleans and Champlain Street to set the stage for the future track and station construction in the median.

Significant ramp modifications occurred at the Jeanne d’Arc Interchange where vehicle access to Highway 174 has been changed. The existing westbound on-ramps were removed and the southbound and northbound lanes of Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard now have signalized right turns. This will help reduce speeds and increase safety for all road users and create greater connectivity for all modes of transportation.

Further to the critical utility relocation work and road preparation work between Trim Road and Jeanne D’Arc, travellers along the 174 will have witnessed significant and intensive construction activity between Blair Station and Montreal Road. In order to connect trains from the existing transit alignment on the north side of the highway into the median itself, a new dedicated rail bridge is being constructed 800m east of the Highway 174 and Blair Road interchange and the existing bus transit bridge, south of Trillium Park. Crews have been hard at work constructing the pier caps that will hold the future Blair Station to 174 median rail bridge. From there, trains will travel east to the final stop at Trim Road where the Stage 2 team has been renovating the existing OC Transpo Park and Ride facility and building a future Highway 174 eastbound, north and south ramp required to make space for the realignment of Trim Road and the construction of the future Trim Station.

Over the course of the year, eastbound 174 lanes had to be shifted south and two new bridges had to be built at the Highway 174 Montreal Road interchange to create enough space to allow work on the guideway and station construction to begin. In November, crews worked over five weeks and weekends to detour traffic from the existing highway bridges to the two new bridges with minimum closure time and impact to the travelling public. This work was critical to enable the demolition of the existing bridges over the course of the first weekend in December and the start of the deep foundation for Montreal Station in 2021.