Gas line rupture tied to Ottawa's LRT project

The construction mishap on Queen Street that caused a major gas leak in downtown Ottawa Tuesday afternoon may have seemed part of a city public works job, but, in fact, was part of Ottawa's $2.1-billion light-rail project.

• Gas leak causes evacuation of downtown Ottawa

Rideau Transit Group is the consortium that won the contract to build the LRT. As part of that contract, RTG is also completing other civic works that other levels of government would usually be in charge of, such as widening Highway 417 and completing roadwork.

It makes sense: it's cheaper to rebuild roads and sidewalks, for example, when parts of the roads and sidewalks are already being ripped up to dig a tunnel. Butit would be almost impossible to define what work is strictly part of the light-rail project, and what would be considered city civic works and to co-ordinate that work between RTG and the city.

RTG rebuilding Queen Street as part of LRTjob

That's why RTG's getting paid to build the whole shebang.

The company has been working on the Queen Street renewal, which will see bicycle lanes, boulevard-style sidewalks, raised paver-stone intersections and improved landscaping installed onthe east-west thoroughfare.

And that's why it was an RTG subcontractor who hit a gas line with an excavator at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, and not a city worker.

It's also the reason the city is giving for not commenting on the gas leak, which inconvenienced thousands of downtown workers and businesses. People were evacuated from their offices, four city blocks were roped off for hours and 34 properties had their gas service shut off. Commuters spent hours getting home.

• LRT contract calls for completion by May 7, 2018
• City breaks promise to finish LRT street-relatedconstruction by June 1

While deputy fire chief Kim Ayottedid give amedia briefing on a street corner, Mayor Jim Watson's office and the city's communications department referred all accident-related questions to RTG. However, RTG said little about the gas leak. An RTG executive is expected to comment further on Wednesday.

It's still unclear what delay, if any, this latest incident will have on the LRT deadline for the downtown core. The contract calls for all above-ground construction to be completed by June 1, but city officials have already said that likely won't happen on Rideau Street where a massive sinkhole appeared last Juneor on parts of Queen Street.