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发表于 2006-1-3 23:33
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New LRT station opens on university campus
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. n3 @0 I/ s+ [6 H7 {1 dby CORINNE LUTTER
4 r* s' P3 L2 s, x4 N7 aExaminer Staff ' U5 c: S! b& [. w% L1 D3 d
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Light rail transit (LRT) has reached a new level in south Edmonton.
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After months of construction, the $108 million project to extend the South LRT 640 metres from the underground University Station to the surface at the new Health Sciences Station is complete.
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Service to the new station, located north of University Avenue on 114 Street, will officially begin on Jan. 1.% k+ \7 l( w, Y. B& h1 j9 R3 f- }
2 h A4 D X) u& B7 U' E' GA grand opening ceremony will be held Jan. 3./ t1 |4 c. C" C# }& I8 }# L" G! K
. g9 `) t: d$ D8 d3 sIt’s the first new LRT station built in the city since 1992.# I/ s6 p; Q" V* F
% C* f9 `6 f+ ? o) M. JWayne Mandryk, transit projects branch manager, says the extension not only provides people easier access to places like the University Hospital, the Jubilee Auditorium and Canadian Blood Services, it’s a symbolic milestone.
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! A) @! \% w; b“It represents us getting to the surface,” says Mandryk. “It’s out of the ground.”' o6 y9 s+ I; r0 y
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The LRT is above ground on the north side, but goes below surface downtown, linking across the North Saskatchewan River to the University Station.& |0 G: M* x8 H
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A $9 million tunnel boring machine was shipped to Edmonton from Singapore to dig through the earth and bring the LRT back to ground level. Construction began in February 2003.
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“We’re opening exactly when we said we were going to open,” says Mandryk. “It’s on time and on budget.”
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Funding for the project came from the Infrastructure Canada-Alberta Program, in which the city, provincial and federal governments provided approximately $9 million each.
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) c. e' P7 r9 {( g6 }2 XThe remainder was funded through the provincial fuel rebate.* \6 \9 _# D3 J
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About $8 million was used to start work on the next leg of the extension to the University of Alberta’s South Campus.: p: B) X% E& L: g: r7 ~7 s: \; o" ~
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“We’ve already started on construction of the next phase down to South Campus,” says Mandryk.
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From Health Sciences Station, the LRT will continue on to stations at 76 Avenue and 114 Street and South Campus, near Foote Field. The South Campus station is expected to open by the end of 2008.
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The next leg will travel down the 111 Street median with stations at Southgate Centre and Century Park, the former Heritage Mall site.0 B2 a! B+ k% D' ]" n# k
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“That will be open by the end of 2009,” says Mandryk.
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The LRT from Health Sciences to Century Park will add about eight kilometres of track to the existing 12 km line, which starts in Clareview.; c: }" h2 u. O% }8 b
/ A( ]# x f5 H2 [, y# LCity council has approved the $595 million cost to take the LRT from Health Sciences to Century Park, says Mandryk.
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0 H& _" D. x/ }The bulk of the money will come from the New Deal for Canadian Communities Program announced by the federal government earlier this year.
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About $8 million will come from a local tax levy and $25 million from the Alberta Municipal Infrastructure Program.
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- d* }, d3 e: }6 D% N4 fWhile the concept plan for the LRT has been approved down to 54 Avenue by the Lendrum Shopping Centre, further public consultation will be held in the new year to finalize the concept plan for the remaining line.7 L1 p [+ {1 }0 |6 U
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Mandryk says the location of the stations, as well as park and ride facilities, need to be determined.
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8 b2 ?; d; Z4 eOn Jan. 1 and 2, residents are invited to use the LRT system for free.
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. p2 b$ d* R) ~0 Z4 c( _. t" d“It gives people an opportunity to ride the LRT, if they haven’t, and just see how convenient it really is,” says Mandryk.
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- W; B' C7 Z. ^ I4 f& zA special train will carry dignitaries, including Mayor Stephen Mandel, to the Health Sciences Station at 10 a.m. on Jan. 3 for the official opening. |
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