I think that the City should at least have a goal to build the LRT bridge to 113A Street and possibly to Castle Downs, something like the plans for Yellowhead/66 Street. Any future LRT could be built in shorter sections.
 
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Well if I could have my way I would get the Northwest LRT to St Albert started and gets the St Albert portion that was planned long time ago as well to get started, I would get the south side started from Ellerslie station to at least the planned station southwards and maybe even through the airport, I would look at further expansion of the Valley Line to further east or south and also further west on the other end. I'd even add the line that was linked to a Valley Line that would go from the U of A to Bonnie Doon and into Sherwood Park. And then also a potential line either with low floor or high floor out to the Windermere Town Center area. Unfortunately all that stuff requires a lot of money and the City has had to partner with different levels of government. As much as it's easy to say we got to keep on building if the money isn't there I highly doubt that a big increase in taxes would be acceptable for most people in order to build more LRT. I agree we have to keep momentum and I think we are doing that for the most part. The fact that we got the two NAIT stations and now the two Capital lines stations is something that I was not expecting to happen while the Valley Line was being built, so I'm actually somewhat satisfied of our progress. Could it be faster do I want it faster sure, will that happen, only time can tell.
 
I often wonder if BRT to Castle Downs will change the budgetary math. Is it as attractive to spend big dollars to build a Metro Line bridge over the CN tracks when the Capital Line can be extended further south toward the airport for less money? Does the political consensus to serve the NW stay the same once BRT is effectively serving Castle Downs?

And just as importantly, does the UCP government simply decide for us that they are only funding a connection to the airport? There is precident for this with what they did to Calgary's Green Line, which again leads to a Capital Line extention far south as the next section built.
 
The airport connection is the most crucial, along with the University Ave grade separation or closure.

For the price of a single underground station on the planned Castle Downs metro expansion, you could build a Valley Line West spur feeding 124th St and the west side of Blatchford.

The CN crossing is a rare situation where TBM must be cheaper than a bridge.
 
YEG imagineer said:
Although not LRT, the AB rail plan will be out sometime and with that could be high speed rail, regional rail which would keep this workforce going if the funding is in place.
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That’s not quite an apples to apples comparison. Urban LRT construction requires concrete track slabs, tight utility constraints, etc. Whereas intercity/regional rail would most likely use ballasted track. There is already a large talent pool working for/contracted by CN and CPKC building/designing tracks for their networks. There would be some overlap in skill sets, but I think the people working on the Valley Line are better suited to urban LRT projects.

Barnaby said:
The CN crossing is a rare situation where TBM must be cheaper than a bridge.
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Not according to the city. They say tunnelling is still more expensive since they would have to build special reinforced tunnels to mitigate vibrations from the train yard above. Not sure how accurate that assessment is though. Selfishly, I want to see that bridge built because it would become another iconic symbol of the city, and just look so cool from the Yellowhead.
 
chrisvazquez7 said:
That’s not quite an apples to apples comparison. Urban LRT construction requires concrete track slabs, tight utility constraints, etc. Whereas intercity/regional rail would most likely use ballasted track. There is already a large talent pool working for/contracted by CN and CPKC building/designing tracks for their networks. There would be some overlap in skill sets, but I think the people working on the Valley Line are better suited to urban LRT projects.


Not according to the city. They say tunnelling is still more expensive since they would have to build special reinforced tunnels to mitigate vibrations from the train yard above. Not sure how accurate that assessment is though. Selfishly, I want to see that bridge built because it would become another iconic symbol of the city, and just look so cool from the Yellowhead.
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And helps provide active transportation options. Much harder with tunnels.
 
Even if the City hypothetically preferred the tunnel there is a chance that it is not at all preferable to CN as it could potentially significantly limit what infrastructure could be installed in their train yard across that alignment and have an impact on their operations. Having a clear span over the yard is likely preferable from all involved.
 
How deep will the tunnel be under the rail yards? Probably deeper than the underpasses along the Yellowhead. Not to mention the related drainage infrastructure. I'm guessing that towers will be built on both sides of the Walker Yards. It's about 350 metres between towers, 120 metres less than the towers at the Lions Gate Bridge.
 
Pretty frank discussion in council today around Clr. Rutherfords motion to provide a memo outlining mass transit options for NW Edmonton. Sounds like crossing the Yellowhead and the CN Yard will cost a ridiculous amount. A realignment may be considered, based on the discussion.
 
husky said:
Pretty frank discussion in council today around Clr. Rutherfords motion to provide a memo outlining mass transit options for NW Edmonton. Sounds like crossing the Yellowhead and the CN Yard will cost a ridiculous amount. A realignment may be considered, based on the discussion.
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Tunneling under the Yellowhead and the CN Yard may be the only option unless they find a way to realign to 127 St.
 
husky said:
Pretty frank discussion in council today around Clr. Rutherfords motion to provide a memo outlining mass transit options for NW Edmonton. Sounds like crossing the Yellowhead and the CN Yard will cost a ridiculous amount. A realignment may be considered, based on the discussion.
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Based on the 'iconic' bridge designs presented thus far?

Hear me out.

How about we did the architectural wonder competition approach and go for a simple, effective design that's utilitarian and cost-effective.

Looking at the maps it looks like there are a few spots for column supports in the yard vs. clear span.

All options presented thus far are massive arch, cantilever or cable-stayed.

It would be interesting to see a simpler more cost-effective bridge.
 
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