St-Laurent station reopened Wednesday morning after a five-day closure. Light rail trains are running on schedule.
On May 17, inspectors at St-Laurent station observed that “a few of the suspended ceiling tiles above the platform were disrupted.” The station was closed so that engineers could perform a full inspection and repair.
An update sent later by Renée Amilcar, the city’s general manager of transit services, added that they found “evidence of corrosion of some ceiling panels and potential delamination of the concrete.”
Delamination was also the reason that chunks of concrete fell onto the tracks at St-Laurent in January, disrupting service. That inspection confirmed there was a separation of the paste layer at the surface, creating an unbonded layer with the main slab.
A freedom of information request obtained by CBC News earlier this year showed that warning signs preceded that incident; inspection of the full station had been skipped and repairs were not undertaken after “severe” problems were observed in 2020.
The same inspection reports note that the ceiling tiles at St-Laurent sustained water damage.
OC Transpo will hold a conference for press, city councillors, and the public at 1 p.m. on May 22. It is expected to provide an update about the work that had to be done and what next steps need to be taken.
The public can watch on the livestream on the City of Ottawa’s YouTube channel.