Construction

Here, at vivaNext, we wear two kinds of hats – thinking caps and hard hats.

That’s because we’re responsible for the planning, design and construction of this next phase of Viva.

While we’ve had our thinking caps on for some time now, in the fall of 2009, we also began to wear our hard hats. At that time, preliminary construction activities began for the first rapidways in York Region:

• Davis Drive in Newmarket
• Enterprise Drive in Markham

As well, construction activities got underway for the first subway extension into York Region, a link that will connect the Spadina subway extension to the existing Wilson Subway Yard and expanded yard storage facilities. Connecting the subway extension to these facilities will help with the daily operations and maintenance requirements.

Throughout construction, every reasonable effort is being made to minimize the disruption and duration of major work at each property, while maintaining access at all times. We are also committed to maintaining through traffic on the roads so drivers will be impacted as little as possible in the construction zone. Existing traffic lanes will be shifted to each side first so traffic can continue to flow while the rapidways are constructed down the middle of the roadway.

Subways are built using two main construction techniques: tunnel boring and cut-and-cover.

• Tunnel boring is used for deeper applications, such as between stations. Because the tunnels are literally bored out below the surface, there is no disruption at the ground level except at the entry and exit points of the machinery.
• Cut-and-cover, on the other hand, is generally used for shallower applications such as station locations. In this case, there is some disruption at the ground level and temporary decking is installed, as necessary, to accommodate vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Advance notice of all work will be given and any temporary changes will be clearly signed. You can also sign up for updates about the specific projects that matter to you, which are e-mailed straight to your inbox. Your Community Liaison will also be available to assist with any questions or concerns you may have.