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    1. Rail
    2. Infrastructure

    Metrolinx’s Davenport Diamond Guideway project reaches major milestone

    Nov. 18, 2021
    Crews on the project recently installed the first set of steel girders on the project.
    Related To: Metrolinx
    Metrolinx
    The steel girders are lifted into place by crane.
    The steel girders are lifted into place by crane.

    The Davenport Diamond Guideway project reached a new milestone with the installation of the first steel girders, which will form the bridge that will allow Barrie GO trains to travel above the CP Rail tracks. 

    The girders were installed over a recent weekend as part of the construction of the CP Rail bridge. 

    When it’s done, the bridge will eliminate the intersection where the Barrie GO tracks meets the CP tracks, allowing GO trains to travel above while CP freight trains pass underneath. This work supports GO Expansion for more frequent, all-day, two-way service on the Barrie Line. 

    The work took two full nights of work (Nov. 6-8) – about 20 hours total – to lift the CP bridge steel girders and beams into place.   

    The two outside girders are the largest components of the bridge, at 30 meters (98 feet) in length. Each girder weighs more than 53,000 kg, which is about the same as 32 regular cars.  

    In the early hours of Nov. 6, the installation began on the end beams and first girder. And by early morning on Nov. 8, the second girder was set in place, followed by the installation of intermediate floor beams and braces to complete the bridge structure. 

    Crews worked to get the job done safely, all while interruptions to GO train service were kept to a minimum. Substantial planning and collaboration between Metrolinx, its contractor Graham and Canadian Pacific (CP) helped ensure this major lift was completed successfully.    

    While there is no GO train service overnight, CP trains run 24/7, which meant the operation was carefully managed to work with frequent CP freight trains passing directly through the work zone. 

    For now, GO trains will continue to travel on the diversion track, which was installed in 2020 to allow GO service to continue running during construction. 

    The diversion track was the first key stage of construction as it temporarily moves the existing GO rail track structure to the east of the current railway to allow space to construct the elevated guideway.  

    Once the west mainline track is installed, trains will be moved up top onto the elevated guideway, allowing crews to remove the diversion track and complete the remaining at-grade work required for the project.