Calgary City Council approved the shortened Phase 1 of the Green Line LRT on July 30, 2024, with an expected cost of $6.2B. This follows years of wrangling with the province, which launched a “review” of the project in 2021, including over who should pay for the escalation in construction costs since federal funding was first pledged for the project back in 2015, and the city has now increased its contribution to $2.9 billion. The procurement process for the Green Line has been extended several times, with “Bow Transit Connectors” a consortium including EllisDon Capital, Flatiron Constructors, and WSP finally being selected in 2023.
Presented as “Building the Core” the project will start with a significantly reduced scope:
- Only the the first 10km of the project the core from Lynnwood/Millican to Eau Claire and seven stations.
- The maintenance facility will be at Highfield instead of Shepard.
- Centre Street station will be deferred.
- The 4 Street S.E. station is relocated and changed from an underground to a street-level station
Construction of the stations from Ogden to Shepard, and any future extensions north or south, will only proceed when funding can be secured.
Transport Action believes that omitting the southern end of the line is a false economy, because inflation and additional procurement and contractor mobilization costs will mean that finishing the line will almost certainly cost taxpayers more in the long term than the additional $1B it would cost to build it now, while leaving many communities waiting years longer for transit and the associated transit-oriented development of housing and business along the corridor. The shortened line will also have fewer passengers to support its capital and operating costs, while the most significant construction costs come from the underground segment through downtown.
More information about advocacy for the project can be found at www.lrtonrthegreen.ca.