With the eastern expansion of the O-Train scheduled to open to the public by year’s end, the finishing touches of construction are currently underway at the stations that will soon see thousands of riders daily.
The extension will add 12.5 kilometres of track east of the existing line, which ends at Blair Station. This includes five new stations, bringing LRT service to Orléans. OC Transpo estimated that 95 per cent of households in the eastern part of the city will be within 5 km of an O-Train station following the completion of the work.
The latest updates and estimates on each station’s progress were given at the June 12 meeting of the city’s transit committee.
Montreal Station
The first station riders travelling east of Blair will encounter is Montreal Station. Its entrance is aptly found on Montreal Road, with fare gates located beneath the Queensway overpass on both sides of the street. The track runs along the Queensway, with the platform situated right between the westbound and eastbound lanes.
According to Jacelyn Daigle, construction manager for the the LRT Stage 2 expansion, the station’s construction is now in the final stages, with any remaining deficiencies in the process of being fixed. Repaving on the Queensway will be completed in the coming months, as westbound lanes have been shifted to make room for the tracks.
The platform itself is almost entirely completed, with pedestrian information displays to be installed by the end of June.
Jeanne D’Arc
The second station east of Blair is Jeanne d’Arc at the intersection of Highway 174 and Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard. It is the first station LRT passengers will encounter in Orléans when travelling eastbound. The station is located at an existing Transitway stop, servicing riders taking local routes as well as Route 39, which goes to the Millennium Transitway stop.
The exterior and interior of the station are both nearly finished, as construction teams are completing surrounding fencing and making sure that any potential issues are resolved.
“Toplift paving was done on Jeanne d’Arc, and that put the bulk of the work behind as far as the civil piece,” Daigle said.
The nearby roundabout project is also currently under construction.
Convent Glen
Convent Glen is a new transit hub that is currently under construction, with station entrances located on the Orléans Boulevard overpass at the Queensway.
The station is one of the furthest along in construction, with the entrance looking ready to welcome transit riders. Daigle said the project is almost complete.
“We’re really focused on deficiency closeout as we wrap up this location,” Daigle said.
Place d’Orléans
Place d’Orléans is a major hub for transit for Ottawa’s east side. Similar to other large-scale malls away from the downtown core, Place d’Orléans has an established Transitway station, which opened in 1994. Now, the city is working on transitioning it into a sleek LRT station.
Paving for the new bus loop is to start by the end of June, and work on Place d’Orléans Drive and nearby Champlain Street will be underway later in the summer to better integrate the new station with surrounding roads.
As for the station’s interior, almost everything is complete, including the wayfinding signage. The main focus with the platform will be completing the framing of its surrounding walls.
Trim Station
Some residents in the Orléans area may already know their way around Trim Station. As part of Open Doors Ottawa, the city recently opened up the station for community members to look around.
“We want to celebrate that we had a very successful Open Doors Ottawa event,” Daigle said. ”We had a great turnout with nearly 800 people coming through to check out the station progress.”
The station is right next to a large park and ride, which is currently undergoing construction. Completed parts of the park and ride are already in use, but the entire project isn’t expected to be completed until the third quarter of this year.
Moving Forward
With the stations nearing completion, the final phase of construction to integrate all elements of the transit hubs is about to begin. For example, pedestrian crossings for the stations neighbouring the Queensway are set to be completed, and operator training is currently ongoing.
In the third quarter of the year, the handover from the construction contractor to OC Transpo is expected. This will then usher in the final inspections, which will be followed by trial runs and eventually full-scale trial operations in the fourth quarter of 2025.
While there are still some doubts that local residents will see the extension ready for riders this year, many in the city and transit committee have shared cautious optimism about the progress that has been made.
“When this term first started, news like this seemed forever away,” said Barrhaven East Coun. Wilson Lo, a member of the transit committee. “So despite the unknowns, it’s nice that we’re getting to a point where we can say things like, ‘It’s close, but…’”
