Davis Drive was a busy place in 2011, with lots of noticeable work done to prepare for rapidway construction. Rapidways will be built from Yonge Street to just past the hospital, and most of our work has been along this section.
Davis Drive will be widened starting in 2012, and we needed to do a few big things first: build retaining walls, widen the Keith Bridge, and relocate utilities.
Widening Davis Drive will mean moving sidewalks and boulevards farther apart. In locations along the south side of Davis Drive where the ground slopes toward the road, retaining walls were needed so that we can move utilities. Five retaining walls are now built using stone blocks or textured concrete, with railings to be added to walls over two feet in height.
A new section of the Keith Bridge was built in 2011, including 106 tonnes of rebar steel reinforcements, and 110 truckloads of poured cement. Even though the final touches are still to come, the historical architectural features are noticeable in the new bridge construction. The Keith Bridge will be fenced this winter, and traffic will move to this bridge section at a later date.
Utilities, such as hydro, gas, sewage, and telecommunication lines, need to be moved to prepare for road widening, and in some cases they needed to be relocated as part of the Keith Bridge or retaining wall construction. Geotechnical testing – examining the condition and consistency of road and boulevard surfaces – has also been underway along Davis Drive so that our engineers know what to plan for when they widen the road.
This winter our contractors are working on 2012 construction schedules and continuing with utility relocation and geotechnical testing. When warmer weather arrives we’ll be ready to begin widening Davis Drive, and you’ll begin to see the overall transformation of Davis Drive into a welcoming urban place.
Happy Holidays everyone – we’ll see you in 2012!
One reply on “Davis Drive – noticeable change in 2011”
Hi there,
I am interested in reviewing some of the documentation around the evolution of the Viva project, from the initial concepts to the final approved design plan/report. Would you be able to direct me to where to find these? Thanks very much!!
DaleA: Thanks for asking – information about the evolution of Viva is available on our website, http://www.vivanext.com. General information can be found on the FAQs page, Presentations page, and on our Corporate page. You can navigate to specific information about each of our rapid transit projects from our Projects page and Past Meetings page.
If you have a specific topic in mind it might be helpful to search this blog site by category. Also be sure to check out the videos and images in our Media Centre.
If you’d like to speak with us directly, feel free to send us an email and we’ll connect you with the right person.