The City of Brampton needs to decide what the unborn LRT is going to look like and how it’ll run through the megacity’s town core.

At a council factory held at the end of February, an update was handed on the LRT Extension Study which includes two favored options a face option and an underground option.

The original conveyance design assessment process (TPAP) for the Hurontario– Main LRT was approved in 2014. After times of debate, in May 2019 Brampton council officially directed staff to modernize the 2014 approved TPAP alignment.

In June 2021 council directed staff to take both the preferred face and lair alignments through the 30 per cent design and draft environmental design report phase.

“It’s going to be an extension of the being Hazel McCallion LRT line, ” explained Doug Rieger, director of conveyance development with Brampton Transit.

“ We feel explosively that this extension needs to be completed with either alignment. ”

Nico Malfara, design adviser and conveyance planning section lead with HDR Design Services, made a donation at the council factory.

The face option, he said, is about four kilometres long from just south of Steeles Avenue to the Brampton GO station with five stations at Steeles, Charolais, Nanwood, Queen and Main in town and the Brampton GO Station.

“ From Steeles to Nanwood, we call it Segment A, the LRT runs in devoted lanes in the centre of the road with at least two lanes for business in each direction,” said Malfara.

“ North of Nanwood to Wellington, Segment B, the LRT also runs in devoted lanes in the centre of the road with one lane for business in each direction. North of Wellington through town Brampton, Segment C, the LRT runs in mixed business with one lane in each direction. Just north of the CN rail ground the LRT turns west and enters the Brampton GO station on the north side of the rail tracks at which point it goes underground and connects to the GO station. ”

A major debit of the face option is the impact it’ll have on trip times, Malfara added.

It’ll also bear the lowering of Main Street by one metre under the CN Ground to accommodate the LRT outflow catenary system. LRT

“Compared to the underground option it’ll be more grueling to extend the face option north in the future due to track figure,” Malfara added. “It’s not infeasible but more complicated. ”

Some crucial design considerations have changed since the last replication of the design was presented to council, Malfara said, including the design of the Brampton GO LRT Terminus Station. “ The 2014 EA used specific hypotheticals that allowed the station to have a compact design and that was independent from the GO station structure, ” said Malfara. “ still, through our design development it was determined that the Brampton GO LRT Station would have to be erected completely underground and this is due to streamlined track figure. ”

The preferred underground option is roughly3.8 kilometers long and runs from just south of Steeles Avenue to Church Street with four stations two at the face with Steeles and Charolais and two underground at Nanwood and town Brampton, the Brampton GO. The first part of the alignment is the same as the face option.

“Also, the line dives underground at the portal, which is between Peel Village Parkway and Elgin Drive and also north of Elgin Drive the LRT is underground all the way to Church Street,” Malfara said.

Changes were made to the design of the underground stations and the position of the portal, he added.

“ The underground portion of the line will be constructed in two ways, ” he said. “ From the gate to Nanwood Station the lair will be constructed with a cut and cover approach which will minimize costs.

“ North of Nanwood to Church Street the line will be constructed using successional excavation mining as it’s utmost cost effective at this length of lair and it also minimizes dislocation to the face and underground serviceability. Nanwood station itself will be constructed open cut.”

Design updates were also made to the underground stations since the last time they were presented to council which has redounded in cost increases.

“The station footmark at Nanwood Station has increased as a result of design development and also to include an underground traction power substation at this position, ” Malfara noted. “The station footmark at town Brampton station has also increased as design stakeholders asked that we include a secondary station entrance and exit with stairs and escalators to serve Queen/ Main Street crossroad. ”

Before estimates for the design were between$ 400 and$ 450 million for a face option and$ 1 billion to$1.7 billion for the underground option.

“With the streamlined cost estimates the cost for the face option is about$ 933 million and the resistance is$2.8 billion,” said Rieger. “When you compare it to some of the other systems that are being erected and funded in the GTHA we ’re not asking for much further for Brampton on a per capita base.”

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