Construction set to begin on downtown transit terminal
WORK SCHEDULED TO BEGIN ON DEC. 1
Construction will soon begin on the city’s $17-million downtown transit terminal.
Project manager Ric Johnston says pile driving on the 5 Avenue South property is scheduled to begin Dec. 1. The concrete piles and caps will support the threelevel, 293-vehicle parkade which will rise above the bus bays.
Design of the block-long structure is 85 per cent complete, he says. A tender for the precast concrete — to be hoisted in place as work proceeds — has already been awarded.
The project will proceed under a construction management approach, Johnston says.
The terminal, stretching from 7 to 8 Street South, will be immediately south of the post office and the Professional Building. The long-vacant site was used as a city-operated surface parking lot for many years.
When complete, the transit facility will provide ticket purchase facilities, washrooms and shelter from the elements. It will also return convenient parking to sections of 4 Avenue South that have been used as bus stops for decades.
The city’s recently completed master plan for transit shows the terminal serving as the transfer point for westside passengers completing their trip on mainline or local routes serving northside and southside areas. Its 10 bus bays are also expected to accommodate regional transit service, when that’s available.
Senior levels of government are covering most of the $17-million cost, with the provincial government contributing $10.1 million — largely from its ongoing GreenTrip program — and the federal government providing $2 million from its Public Transportation Infrastructure Fund.
The facility is expected to be ready for drivers and riders sometime in 2019.