Edmonton LRT extension funding confirmed
March 12, 2019
By
CCE
It will take about one year to select a contractor for the Valley Line West LRT extension project, and about one year to complete design and select a contractor for the Metro Line Northwest LRT extension. Construction for both is anticipated to begin as early as 2020.
Infrastructure Canada is providing over $1 billion to the City of Edmonton for two major light rail transit (LRT) projects, including approximately $948 million for the Valley Line West LRT and approximately $127 million for the Metro Line Northwest LRT.
And the province of Alberta also reaffirmed its commitment of approximately $1.17 billion towards both projects, including approximately $1.04 billion for the Valley Line West LRT and approximately $131 million for the first phase of the Metro Line Northwest LRT. The City of Edmonton is providing approximately $706 million to the projects.
The City reports that it will take about one year to select a contractor for the Valley Line West LRT project, and another five to six years to complete construction. And it will take about one year to complete design and select a contractor for the Metro Line Northwest LRT extension, and another four years to complete construction and commissioning.
Construction on both projects is anticipated to begin as early as 2020.
The Valley Line West LRT project is the second stage of the City’s Valley Line construction, involving a line extension of approximately 14km from downtown Edmonton to the community of Lewis Farms.
The Metro Line Northwest LRT extension is an expansion of the Metro Line and involves extending the line by approximately 1.5km from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology [NAIT] to the Blatchford development.
“We are undertaking the most ambitious expansion of our LRT network in our history so we can grow smart and sustainably, and keep more than a million people moving,” said Edmonton mayor Don Iveson in a media release.
