{"id":5565,"date":"2019-06-06T12:34:27","date_gmt":"2019-06-06T17:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/?p=5565"},"modified":"2019-06-06T12:34:27","modified_gmt":"2019-06-06T17:34:27","slug":"behind-the-scenes-building-a-vivastation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/blog\/2019\/06\/06\/behind-the-scenes-building-a-vivastation\/","title":{"rendered":"behind the scenes >> building a vivastation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Blog post by: Elizabeth Kim<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite wavering weather from Mother Nature, crews have been busy with a number of work activities across each of our construction projects in Richmond Hill<\/a>, Newmarket<\/a> and Vaughan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been out driving or walking along these projects, you\nmay feel that construction can sometimes be messy, chaotic, and never-ending. Although\nall this work may appear identical, there are actually a number of construction\nactivities underway, many of which require specialized crews. But, before work\nstarts on each of rapid transit projects, there\u2019s careful planning that goes on\nbehind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

vivastations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many steps in building each of the iconic vivastations\nacross our projects, all which are carefully planned to ensure work can get\ncompleted efficiently, while ensuring everyone \u2013 pedestrians, motorists and\nconstruction workers \u2013 remain safe. When complete, transit users will be able\nto enjoy new technology and innovative features that each vivastation offers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building a vivastation is sort of like putting together the pieces\nto a puzzle. Each step carefully lays the foundation for the vivastation,\nprioritizing consistency, quality, and safety. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the year progresses and work on our vivastations begins to\nunfold, keep your eyes out for each of the following steps that go into building\na vivastation! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Excavation, caisson drilling, and finishing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the existing asphalt and road base is removed in preparation\nfor construction, circular caissons are drilled 8 to 10 meters (26 to 32 feet)\ninto the ground. Caissons are reinforced concrete columns placed below ground\nthat act as the foundation for platforms. First, a large drill is used to\ncreate a deep hole for the column. Next, a steel rebar cage is placed in the\ndrilled hole. Finally the hole is filled in with concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Platforms, barrier walls are formed, poured, and cured <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the caissons are installed, the concrete station platform and\nbarrier walls will start to take shape. A concrete slab reinforced with steel\nis built on top of caissons to serve as the platform for vivastations. Concrete\nfor the barrier walls are then formed, which provide delineation between the vivastation\nand live traffic, making them a key safety feature of every vivastation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the installation of the barrier walls, electrical conduits\nare placed within the steel rebar cage.  Plywood\nforms are used as a mold for the walls and are placed around the rebar. Concrete\nis poured into the forms to create the barrier walls. Once the concrete is\nhardened, the forms are removed and the barrier walls are smoothed out to\nremove any surface imperfections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Steel erection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A steel skeleton \u2013 prefabricated offsite and transported by trucks\n\u2013 is then erected on the concrete barrier walls. Prior to delivery to the site,\nthe steel canopy is painted with a resin coating, in a champagne bronze colour.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These structures are raised into place by a large crane with\ncareful maneuvering and precision. Lanes are often reduced around the\nvivastation during this procedure to ensure pedestrians, motorists and crews\nremain safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Glass\ninstallation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of our vivastations use tempered glass, which contains properties\nthat strengthen the glass, ultimately creating a safe and durable structure\nthat covers the exterior of the vivastation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The glass is pre-cut and tinted prior to delivery to the site.\nConstruction crews then carefully place the glass onto the canopy, creating our\nbeautiful, signature blue vivastations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Tile\nwork on platform<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tile work is then done on the platforms, including tactile tile\nwork at every vivastation. These tactile tiles are either cast iron or porcelain\nplates \u2013 depending on the construction project \u2013 that act as a textured ground\nsurface indicator. These tiles are able to assist pedestrians and passengers\nwho are visually impaired effectively navigate the surrounding environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar to our bus stops, we install directional tiles at every\nvivastation platform. Directional tiles are brown, textured tiles that help to assist\nvisually impaired pedestrians and passengers in determining accurate direction\nof travel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6.\nElectrical and IT systems<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The installation of electrical and IT (Intelligent Transportation)\nsystems are spread out throughout the whole construction process. However, most\nof this work happens close to when the vivastations will be completed. Security\nand PA systems, emergency call boxes (ECB), lights, and motion-activated\nheaters within the enclosed waiting area are installed, along with PRESTO\/VIVA\nfare vending machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Fixture\ninstallation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fixtures common to every vivastation are installed. These include,\nbut are not limited to, garbage and recycling bins, handrails, doors, signs,\nand benches, signaling that the rapidway will soon be open for service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

building\ntransit for the future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It takes time to build transit that will have a lasting impact on\ngenerations to come. Our construction projects are about more than just\ndedicated lanes for bus rapid transit \u2013 they\u2019re about connecting people and\nplaces, and providing complete streets for the entire community to benefit\nfrom. Complete streets provide economic, environmental and social benefits that\nlead to an overall improvement in quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transit riders, residents and businesses are best served when\ntransit works as an integrated system. It\u2019s crucial for transit services to\nwork together as a well-planned network, connecting different modes of\ntransportation and destinations. And we\u2019re proud that our vivastations play an\nintegral role in connecting the community in a faster, more efficient way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

STAYING\nINFORMED<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure to connect with us on social media to receive regular\nconstruction updates and stay in touch! The best way to stay informed about our construction\nprojects is to sign-up for email notifications at vivanext.com\/subscribe<\/a>, and to follow us on our social media platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blog post by: Elizabeth Kim Despite wavering weather from Mother Nature, crews have been busy with a number of work activities across each of our construction projects in Richmond Hill, Newmarket and Vaughan. If you\u2019ve been out driving or walking along these projects, you may feel that construction can sometimes be messy, chaotic, and never-ending. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1092,96,1084,25,30,430,67,1067],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-construction","category-design","category-going-green","category-rapidways","category-safety","category-stations","category-transit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5565"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5577,"href":"https:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5565\/revisions\/5577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yrrtc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}