‘TRENDING LATE’
Valley Line LRT work falls behind
The $1.8-billion, 13-kilometre southeast leg of the Valley Line LRT is heading toward a delayed opening in summer or fall of 2021, more than six months after it was initially scheduled to be on track.
Transed, the contractor of the $1.8-billion line from Downtown to Mill Woods, continues to work on making up time through the summer construction season. The line was initially expected to open this December, but hit an early roadblock when a car-sized concrete slab in the North Saskatchewan River was found during the Tawatinâ Bridge construction. Only one cable-stay needs to be added to the bridge before it connects across the river, expected within the next month.
During the Wednesday update on the city’s 280 active construction projects, acting deputy city manager of infrastructure Jason Meliefste said the Valley Line is heading for a 2021 opening, be that summer or fall.
“We continue to work with the contractor to be able to bring it back on schedule, but as of today it is trending late,” he said. “It’s hard to say definitively one specific cause. The contractor did experience some issues with some of the ground conditions underneath the river bed as part of the Tawatinâ Bridge. Certainly that was a very difficult hurdle for the contractor to overcome early on in the project and that’s where they continue to try to adjust their manpower and resources to be able to bring the project back on schedule as much as possible.”
Valley Line construction is one of only a handful of projects currently behind schedule this season, Meliefste said, with 94 per cent on time and 84 per cent on budget.
“In other years this might have been business as usual, but not as much this year as it’s business as unusual,” he said, noting the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city.
“(It’s) one of our most ambitious construction seasons that we have ever had on record.”
$119-MILLION NORTHWEST POLICE CAMPUS OPENING ALSO DELAYED
One project well past its due date is the new $119.7-million northwest police campus, currently having its beleaguered roof replaced after several leaks. The replacement roof is expected to cost $8 million and be installed by the end of the year. The new police station, to serve northwest division, was initially intended to be operational in early 2019. The building leaks were first identified in December 2017.
“Repairs on the northwest police campus are ongoing. We’re working with our contractor and our special advisers and roofing specialists on the final design details, but the work has started on the deconstruction of the existing roof,” Meliefste said. “We are expecting to have the roof replaced and in good repair by the end of the year, so we’re working on that timeline as of today.”
Other projects currently underway that may soon impact motorists include the Yellowhead Freeway conversion and the Groat Road Bridge renewal. On the Yellowhead, crews have begun widening the road to three lanes in each direction, from 61 Street to the North Saskatchewan River. A minimum of two lanes in each direction will be maintained during the day with the potential of temporary ramp closures and further reductions overnight.
The Groat Road Bridge project is expected to wrap up this fall and full daytime closures of the bridge will be required toward the end of September for concrete pouring.
About 10,000 people will be employed through the city’s active construction projects and they will work with 300 Edmonton-area vendors.
With fewer vehicles on the road due to COVID -19, the city has repaired close to 310,000 potholes this year, a spike of 25 per cent from the same time period in 2019. Last week alone there were almost 12,000 repairs done; residents are encouraged to continue to reporting potholes to 311.