Province pitches in for Edmonton’s LRT extension
November 2, 2018
By
CCE
Alberta is investing $1 billion, or 40%, of the city’s expected $2.6-billion Valley Line West LRT expansion cost as well as $131 million of the $328-million Metro Line expansion project.
(l to r) Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson; Minister of Transportation, Brian Mason; Wade Coombs, Canadian Urban Transit Association Board of Directors; and Premier Rachel Notley together celebrate the Alberta government investing $1 billion in the Valley Line West LRT expansion.
The Alberta government has announced that it is investing $1 billion, or 40%, of the city’s expected $2.6-billion Valley Line West LRT expansion cost. This is in addition to the province’s commitment to the city’s Metro Line which totals $131 million of the $328-million project.
The Valley West route expansion will move some 60,000 Edmontonians between downtown and Lewis Estates every day, providing a faster commute. The Metro Line expansion will run from NAIT to the new Blatchford community, serving thousands more commuters daily.
The finished routes will bring suburban communities and the city’s core together, with connections to LRT and bus routes covering the entire city. The 14 new stops include West Edmonton Mall, the Misericordia Hospital and the Brewery District.
“We are planning and building a city for more than a million people, and with commute times getting longer each year, now is a critical time in Edmonton’s growth to ensure we have a robust transit network in place,” said Don Iveson, mayor, City of Edmonton, in a media release.
The construction of the Valley Line West project is expected to be complete in 2026 and the Valley Line is projected to move 40,000 passengers daily in 2027 and 60,000 in 2047.
The Edmonton Metropolitan Region is one of the fastest growing regions in Canada, with 1.2 million residents (2016), and by 2044 the Edmonton Metropolitan Region is expected to nearly double in population to 2.2 million residents.
