Bringing this over from the construction thread...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Me&You
Would it be possible to have the LRT tracks buried all the way from where they come out from cemetery hill to where they go under 12th ave? Might as well do the whole thing, no?
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Thats one possibility, and likely the best way to do it but it will be expensive. It would be almost the same length as the downtown subway (14 blocks roughly, though it is against the shorter side of the blocks). Not to mention that it would also require going under the Elbow, which would likely force them to bore a part of the tunnel. And kyle pointed out a good point with the crossing at 26th that would probably be a show stopper.
Even if they just stick underground from 12th and come back above before the river it could still be north of $100M for the stretch based on common costs for similar projects. Depending on the depth of the station it should fit, we've estimated in the past that there needs to be about 100m from the portal entrance to get to grade, so if the new portal was at the south edge of the Big 4 it should fit with a 4 (or 5) LRV platform pretty much where the Big 4 is currently.