Royal Galipeau, MP for Ottawa–Orléans; Yasir Naqvi, MPP for Ottawa Centre; Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa and City Councillors congratulate students from one of the winning classes in the “Name our Diggers” contest.
Ottawa – Over the next few years, deep beneath city streets, Chewrocka, Crocrodile Rouge and Jawbreaker will be busy carving out Ottawa’s transportation future. These are the names given to the three LRT tunnel road headers following a city-wide naming contest for Grade 4 classes, which saw about 50 submissions from local students.
The winning classes were:
Ms. Lincoln’s Class at Agincourt Road Public School, (Chewrocka; central shaft)
Mme Sauvé’s Class at Saint-Joseph d'Orléans (Crocrodile Rouge; east portal)
Ms. Ryan’s Class at Roberta Bondar Public School (Jawbreaker; west portal)
The names were announced this afternoon at City Hall during a special event held for the winning classes. Royal Galipeau, MP for Ottawa–Orléans and Yasir Naqvi, MPP for Ottawa Centre joined Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and City Councillors to meet the students and talk about how the City is building a 21st century transportation system.
“I would like to offer my congratulations to the winning Grade 4 classes of the “Name Our Diggers” contest and thank all who participated,” said MP Galipeau. “It is great to see Ottawa’s youth – and future LRT users – so interested and involved in this project, one of the most significant projects in Ottawa’s history.”
“I am very excited for kids in our community — the future LRT users,” said MPP Naqvi. “Our support for this project is creating jobs and building the kind of strong, sustainable communities we want for our children’s future. Its part of our government’s economic plan to invest in people, build modern infrastructure and support a dynamic and innovative business climate.”
“These students will be entering Grade 9 in the year that Confederation Line comes into service, and represent the next generation of new riders.” said Mayor Watson. “I congratulate them, and all the students who participated, for their creativity and enthusiasm. I know that they, along with most of Ottawa, will be eager to track the progress of Chewrocka, Crocrodile Rouge and Jawbreaker as they dig out the tunnel and our three new underground stations.”
The Confederation Line is a $2.1 billion light rail transit (LRT) project that is jointly funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the City of Ottawa. The Government of Canada is contributing $600 million through the Building Canada Fund. The City of Ottawa will also allocate up to $161.5 million of its federal Gas Tax Fund transfers to this project. The Government of Ontario is contributing up to $600 million. In addition, the City of Ottawa will allocate $287 million of Provincial Gas Tax receipts to the capital infrastructure. The remaining project budget funds will come from development charge revenues and transit reserves.
This project is the first stage in Ottawa’s future rail network. The 12.5-kilometre electric light rail system replaces existing diesel powered buses, providing rapid transit between Blair Station in the east and Tunney’s Pasture in the west. The route includes 13 stations and a 2.5-kilometre tunnel that will alleviate congestion through the downtown core. For more information, visit ottawa.ca.
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