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Trains will be skipping St-Laurent Station for “several” more days while engineers and work crews remove all of the station’s suspended concrete ceiling panels above the north and south platforms.
Train stops at St-Laurent were suspended early Friday after a visual inspection indicated an issue with the ceiling tiles.
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An initial assessment indicated evidence of corrosion of some ceiling panels and potential delamination of the concrete, according to a memo from OC Transpo general manager Renée Amilcar to the mayor and city councillors.
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In an update late Saturday night, Amilcar said ceiling panels have been cut out to facilitate inspections and crews have removed panels showing “significant corrosion or accumulation of debris.”
Amilcar said there is evidence that water infiltration has caused corrosion of sections of the suspended ceiling structure and contributed to minor delamination of the concrete roof slab.
The accumulated debris seen on top of the ceiling panels “appears to be comprised of concrete slurry that spilled over from construction during the 2023 St-Laurent Station platform rehabilitation project,” the memo states.
Amilcar noted the concrete roof slab predates light rail construction and the affected section of St-Laurent Station was originally built to serve buses as part of the Transitway system.
“Based on the current state of the infrastructure and the evidence of ongoing water infiltration, engineers have recommended that all of the suspended ceiling panels be removed to allow for a full inspection of the concrete roof slab, a process which is expected to take several days,” Amilcar said.
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The city requires engineers to sign off on the remedial work to ensure that any hazards associated with falling concrete debris and falling ceiling debris has been mitigated.
“Once these points have been confirmed to the city’s satisfaction, and any temporary corrective or protective measures are completed, OC Transpo will reopen the platforms and return St-Laurent to full service,” Amilcar stated.
City officials will be working with Rideau Transit Maintenance on a plan to provide safe access for passengers while undertaking further inspection work and remedial “to address the root causes of this issue,” Amilcar said.
“As always, we will be making decisions out of an abundance of caution with the safety of our customers being the priority.”
For transit users, this means trains will run from Tunney’s Pasture to Blair Station on the normal weekend schedule and will skip St-Laurent Station. Bus shuttles will operate between St-Laurent and Cyrville Stations.
Route 19 will provide an additional option for transit users traveling east to St-Laurent Station from Hurdman Station.
Route 24 will provide an additional option for customers travelling west from Blair Station to St-Laurent.
Updates will be provided as further information becomes available, Amilcar said, with the next update to council expected on Monday afternoon.
Transit users were advised to check social-media media channels or octranspo.com for updates.
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