No decision yet on maintaining existing contracts for the Calgary – Calgary Green Line LRT project Achi-News

There are still no decisions on whether some of Calgary’s existing contracts will be maintained for the winding down Green Line LRT project, after a meeting of provincial and city officials on Friday.

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, Premier Danielle Smith and Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen held a meeting Friday morning with city and provincial officials in Red Deer during the annual Alberta Municipalities convention.

Global News has learned that the purpose of the meeting was to review the agreements as well as the implications for the city if those deals were cancelled.

In a statement, Gondek described the meeting as “productive,” similar language to what was used after a meeting held last week.

“For the benefit of taxpayers, I am focused on every way the original Green Line project can be wound down in a manner that preserves the highest value and benefit for Calgarians,” he said.

Days after the city council voted to end the project, Gondek sent a letter to Smith and Dreeshen urging the province to preserve pieces of existing work while they seek a new alignment.

According to the city, leveraging existing work and contracts would also be an opportunity to reduce the estimated minimum of $850 million in costs to complete the project.

Over the past week, the administrative teams of the city and the province have been reviewing the agreements for the LRT project after the province agreed to Gondek’s request.

“Specifically, the discussions have focused on three of the 70 existing contracts – design, light rail vehicles (LRV) and retaining the specialist technical resources to review the design progression from 4 Street SE to Shepard,” he said. the city in a statement.

In a statement following the meeting, Dreeshen said the province is committed to “providing a Green Line that meets the needs of Calgary commuters.”

“We continue to work productively with the City of Calgary towards a cost-effective Green Line alignment that connects the Red and Blue Lines, the new event center and the southeast communities,” he said.

But with no decisions coming out of Friday’s meeting, experts warn that time is of the essence with several major transportation projects underway across the country.

“There is an incredible demand for many of these materials, people and supplies,” Leading Mobility Consulting principal David Cooper told Global News. “We need to figure out what we’re building, or Calgary will miss out.”

The provincial government has tapped engineering firm AECOM to seek an alternate above-ground alignment, which is expected to be completed by December 2024.

Calgary city council voted to end the Green Line project last week after the provincial government withdrew its share of $1.53 billion in funding for the first phase of the line.

Dreeshen sent a letter informing the city of the state’s decision earlier this month, and cited concerns with reduced ridership due to reduced scope for the first phase of the project, as well as the plan to tunnel under the city’s core.

That followed the council’s decision in July to cut the first phase of the line due to cost overruns that brought the total budget to $6.2 billion.

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