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A $3.6-billion expansion of LRT includes previously unbudgeted infrastructure work and will force the O-Train Trillium Line to shut down for at least 16 months, the Citizen has learned.

This is the first major public reveal of plans for the second phase of LRT since summer 2015. Information trickling down from the Stage 2 office ahead of a presentation at city hall on Friday indicates the rail expansion will be completed in three stages.

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Extending the Trillium Line south to Bowesville Road in Riverside South and building a spur to the Ottawa International Airport would be first, with a target completion date of 2021.

The eastern arm to Trim Road would be completed by 2022.

And the western extensions to Bayshore Shopping Centre and Algonquin College would be finished by 2023.

Prioritizing the southern extension of the Trillium Line to reach the fast-growing communities of Riverside South, Findlay Creek and Leitrim, which some hope will reduce congestion on the Airport Parkway and lessen the need for the city to widen that road, would be a big win for those communities.