Edmonton proposes changes to Capital Line South LRT project to cut costs

City considering LRT cost-saving changes The city is considering changes to the Capital Line South LRT expansion to save money. Jeremy Thompson explains.

The city is looking at scaling back plans for the Capital Line South LRT expansion as a result of inflation, supply chain issues, and labour costs.

The project, which will see the Capital Line extended four and a half kilometres from Century Park to 41 Avenue SW, was originally budgeted at $1.085 billion.

A business case for the project was submitted to the provincial government in September 2020.

In 2021, the province approved the business case and submitted it to the federal government for consideration under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan (ICIP) grant program.

Funding for the project was approved in April 2022.

The federal government will contribute $418 million, the province $324 million, and the city will provide $343 million, as well as paying for any cost overruns.

The funding approval also includes the city's request to transfer $60 million in previously approved federal and provincial funding from the Metro Line LRT expansion to the Capital Line South LRT expansion.

But the city says the cost of the project has increased since the business case was submitted.

As the city gears up to find a contractor for the project, officials are looking at cutting back in some areas to keep the line on budget.

The original plan included an elevated Heritage Valley North Station and an elevated crossing at Ellerslie Road.

Additionally, the city planned for a park-and-ride facility with 1,100 to 1,900 parking spots.

The new plan calls for the Heritage Valley North Station and Ellerslie Road crossing to be at-grade, and defers the park-and-ride lot to a future project.

The new plan would also see the city order fewer new trains to service the new line, and a smaller operations and maintenance facility built to house the trains.

The councillor that represents the ward where the line will be built is calling for input from the public before the city goes ahead with the changes.

"Any big infrastructure project is long term use, from generation to the next generation," Coun. Jennifer Rice of Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday. "We want to make sure to build at the beginning build right and proper infrastructure to meet the public needs."

Rice says she notified the residents of her ward about the proposed changes, and has already heard concerns about the changes to the Ellerslie Road crossing.

"The first one is about the traffic congestion. Additional traffic congestion adds up, and with already existing, really busy major roads, and on Ellerslie Road, that is a major hurdle," she said.

She's also heard from residents who are concerned about delaying the park-and-ride lot.

"I heard over and over, people say we only build the LRT when people will use. And if nobody use it, then there’s no point to build it. Right now, if we reduce that capacity, that will impact the people how to use our system."

Coun. Tim Cartmell isn't sure about the proposed changes either.

"I don't think we’ve examined all the options."

He's concerned about problems created by street level-LRTcrossings on the Metro Line and near the University of Alberta, but he's also aware of the cost of building a raised station and crossing.

"You’ve got a bridge that ends up being a kilometre long, potentially from where it takes off to where it lands. Car bridge, you know, we go under the LRT on Whitemud Drive, so maybe we emulate that."

A council committee is scheduled to discuss the options for the line on May 3.

Anyone with opinions is encouraged to register to speak at the meeting.

The city issued a Request for Qualifications for contractors for the project in June 2022, and says a Request for Proposals was issued to the two shortlisted bidders on March 31, 2023.

Preliminary work on the line is already underway.

Construction of the Capital Line South LRT is scheduled to begin spring 2024.

The line is supposed to open in 2028.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson.