Ontario Construction News staff writer
Finishing touches are being put on the parking structure at the Bramalea GO while new construction work is starting on upgrades to the west and centre portions of the island platform.
For the past 18 months, construction crews have been building the parking structure at Bramalea GO station once piece of pre-cast concrete at a time. They recently placed the 1,515th and final piece on the six storey structure at Bramalea GO Station.
Construction crews have also been transforming the station and creating better customer access, enhanced station amenities and improved accessibility.
“Construction crews put together the 1,515 pieces of concrete that made up the parking structure, day after day – floor by floor,” said Georgina Collymore, Metrolinx communications senior advisor.
“Think of Lego blocks, but way bigger. That’s how this impressive parking structure came to life.”
The precast concrete that makes up the pieces of the structure are created off-site using a uniquely designed mold. GO’s construction team broke down the whole process into three simple steps:
- Concrete is poured into a wooden or steel mold with wire mesh or rebar.
- The concrete piece is then dried, or cured, in a controlled environment
- Once finished, the precast concrete is transported to the construction site and put into place.
Contractor Kenaidan Contracting and Engineers (KCL) is managing the overall improvements at Bramalea GO, and also brought on Pre-Con to create the pre-cast pieces needed for the parking structure. Based in Brampton, with a secondary location in Woodstock, Pre-Con has been responsible for contributing to a variety of projects across Ontario and North America and provided similar pieces for the Oakville GO parking structure.
KCL explains that using precast concrete to build large structures like a parking garage is very common – because it’s efficient, low maintenance and resistant to the damage caused by the many different types of weather in Ontario.
“Placing the last piece of precast concrete for the structure at Bramalea GO is a big accomplishment for the team and a big step to get us closer to the finish line which is a station that makes commuting safe, easy and reliable for our customers,” said Metrolinx project Coordinator Tracy Abell.
Work continues on the inside to the parking structure, platforms and new tunnel access on the west side of the station.