Officials and politicians helped break ground Thursday on the construction project that started earlier this year for a southern extension of Edmonton’s LRT system. The $1.38 billion, 4.5-kilometre addition to the Capital Line being managed by Ledcor started earlier this year. Workers have begun major construction work on Phase 1 of the line that runs south/southwest from Century Park to the Heritage Valley Transit Centre and Park & Ride. Bruce Ferguson, the branch manager for the city’s LRT expansion renewal, said demand for more LRT service on the south side spurred the project. “The city does have an LRT network plan that has LRT going to all corners of the city, (and) south Edmonton is definitely the fastest growing part of the city,” said Ferguson, who is responsible for leading the team building all Edmonton LRT expansion projects. “When funding was available, council prioritized it because this is where we see the growth. This is where we see the largest increase in planned ridership.” Ferguson said the city expects 15,000 people will use the line expansion daily when it opens. Ledcor subsidiary Capital Line Design-Build Ltd. and design partner AECOM hold the contract for Phase 1 of the project, which will extend the Capital Line from Century Park to north of Ellerslie Road. They are finishing detailed design plans. The second phase will continue work to take the line to Desrochers and Allard. The route will run south alongside 111 Street, cut west just south of Anthony Henday Drive then continue southward west of 127 Street and run along James Mowatt Trail to 41 Avenue SW. Phase 1 construction is expected to take four to five years to complete followed by testing. Phase 1 work will include: • An underpass at 23 Avenue; • Bridges crossing Blackmud Creek and Anthony Henday Drive; • A new operations and maintenance facility south of Anthony Henday Drive; • An LRT station at Twin Brooks; • A multi-modal LRT station north of Ellerslie Road connecting to the Heritage Valley Transit Centre.
