York Viva bus rapid transit expansion reaches major milestone in York Region

Newswire.ca
Sept. 28, 2015

Metrolinx and York Region Rapid Transit Corporation (YRRTC) today announced the award of a $333.2 million contract to EDCO to design, build and finance the next phase of the dedicated York Viva Bus Rapid Transit rapidways along the Highway 7 transit corridor in the City of Vaughan and Town of Richmond Hill.

This contract is a public-private partnership to design, build and finance 10 new vivastations and approximately 12 kilometres of rapidway along two sections of Highway 7. The first segment will extend from Helen Street to Interchange Way/Edgeley Boulevard, and the second section will run from the Centre Street and Highway 7 intersection to Yonge Street via the existing Viva route on Centre Street and Bathurst Street Viva route. Construction begins in 2016, and the rapidway will open for service in 2020.

"The Ontario government is pleased to be following through on our commitment to improve public transit for York Region," said Steven Del Duca, Ontario's Minister of Transportation. "Our investments in public infrastructure are supporting the region's economy, helping to manage congestion, and improving travel connections between communities."

"The vivaNext project is an exciting example of the Metrolinx Regional Transportation Plan in action," said Metrolinx Chief Capital Officer Jack Collins. "This project represents a shared commitment to encourage people to use transit, reduce congestion and improve the environment."

“Transit is one of the most important issues to York Region residents, and York Regional Council is responding by helping to make transit infrastructure projects like this happen,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson. “We’re focused on planning and building critical transit infrastructure so that York Region residents can continue to enjoy a high quality of life.”

In total, vivaNext rapidways are being built along 34 kilometres of key York Region corridors and will include a total of 38 new vivastations. The new rapidways will make it easier to travel in and around York Region by improving travel times and service reliability, and will integrate with local transit systems for better connectivity.

EDCO is a joint venture of EllisDon Capital Inc. and Coco Paving Inc., supported by a Design-Build joint venture of EllisDon Civil Ltd. and Coco Paving Inc., and a Design Team of IBI Group, LEA Consulting Ltd., and Peto MacCallum Ltd. The selection of EDCO is the result of an open, fair and competitive procurement process, with Infrastructure Ontario acting as procurement advisor for the project.

This initiative is part of the York Viva BRT project which represents a $1.4 billion transit investment from the Government of Ontario, and is part of Metrolinx's Regional Transportation Plan, a 25-year plan for an integrated and sustainable transit and transportation system in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). The project is being implemented by Metrolinx, an agency of the Province of Ontario. Visit metrolinx.com for more information.

York Region Rapid Transit Corporation (YRRTC) is responsible for the planning, design and construction of the full vivaNext rapid transit network and related infrastructure to deliver on the transit priorities set out in the York Region Transportation Master Plan. YRRTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary and share capital corporation of The Regional Municipality of York. The vivaNext plan is a key component of the vision outlined by the Places to Grow Act, which aims to manage growth in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way that enriches communities.

For more information, please visit vivanext.com.