If you think finishing a thousand-piece puzzle feels good, imagine that feeling – but on an enormous scale.

For the last 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 soon-to-be completed six storey structure at Bramalea GO Station. That’s one giant jigsaw.

Improvements at Bramalea station go beyond the parking garage. Construction crews have been hard at work as they transform the station and create better customer access, enhance station amenities and improve accessibility.

Since early last year, GO Transit customers have watched the station transform from this:

To this:

Construction crews put together the 1,515  pieces of concrete that made up the parking structure, day after day – floor by floor. Think of Lego blocks, but way bigger. That’s how this impressive parking structure came to life.

Every week a few large pieces of precast concrete were placed into their own individual slots where they fit perfectly. The precast concrete that makes up the pieces of the structure are created off-site using a uniquely designed mold. In the past, many GO Transit structures were built on site, pouring concrete directly into its final destination using site cast forms on location.

GO’s construction team broke down the whole process into three simple steps:

1. Concrete is poured into a wooden or steel mold with wire mesh or rebar.
2. The concrete piece is then dried, or cured, in a controlled environment
3. Once finished, the precast concrete is transported to the construction site and put into place.

Sounds easy, right?

Kenaidan Contracting and Engineers (KCL), the contractor on site everyday managing the overall improvements at Bramalea GO, were instrumental in securing a local vendor to be a part of the project at Bramalea.

KCL 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. They’re no stranger to working on Metrolinx projects, having previously 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 – 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,” says Metrolinx project Coordinator Tracy Abell.

What’s Next at Bramalea GO?

Major progress continues on site to revitalize Bramalea GO Station with work continuing on the inside to the parking structure, the platforms and new tunnel access on the west side of the station.

Cick here to see the station access map.

Starting April 20, GO Transit will be closing the centre pedestrian tunnel to complete important upgrades on the west and centre portions of the island platform.

This will mean changes to how GO customers access the platforms and manoeuvre around the station. These changes will create more space for construction workers and customers while they build and use the station every day.

While the pieces all continue to fall into place at one of Brampton’s busiest transit hubs, GO Transit wants to help you stay in the know.

For more information visit gotransit.com/improvements or sign up to get updates sent directly to your inbox or phone, at onthegoalerts.gotransit.com.