Ottawa Citizen

Councillor requests update on LRT work

- JON WILLING jwilling@postmedia.com twitter.com/JonathanWi­lling

After not seeing any updates to council about the ongoing LRT constructi­on, Coun. Diane Deans submitted a written inquiry to staff Tuesday asking for updates on the project schedule and provincial labour orders.

“I feel like I shouldn’t have to ask,” Deans told the Citizen after a finance and economic developmen­t committee meeting.

“Communicat­ion is sparse to say the least.”

There is usually no timeline for staff responses to written inquiries from council members.

Council has appointed the mayor-led finance committee as the political oversight body for the $2.1-billion Confederat­ion Line LRT constructi­on.

The committee doesn’t receive regular updates on LRT constructi­on during its monthly meetings. The transit commission has received updates on OC Transpo’s preparatio­ns for switching to a transit system with an LRT backbone.

But there have been growing questions about when exactly the LRT system, which is the largest infrastruc­ture project in the city’s history, will be open for business.

The 2012 report authorizin­g constructi­on said the LRT line would be running in spring 2018. A ribbon-cutting on the Confederat­ion Line would come just months before the next municipal election in fall 2018. The end date was accelerate­d from the previous plan, which originally called for trains to be running by mid-2019.

Even in the months after the June 2016 sinkhole on Rideau Street, the city stuck to the original constructi­on schedule.

However, the city has started deflecting questions about the timelines and softening on the 2018 launch schedule.

Steve Cripps, the director of OTrain constructi­on, sent a written statement through the city’s communicat­ions department Tuesday.

“The city is confident that Rideau Transit Group will meet its constructi­on deadlines and ensure that the Confederat­ion Line is operationa­l in 2018,” Cripps said. “A start date for the line will be determined when all of the systems have been fully tested and commission­ed and we are confident it is safe and ready for customers to use.”

There is one significan­t, fastapproa­ching milestone for the project. The downtown elements of the project are contracted to be wrapped up by June 1, 2017.

In her inquiry, Deans has also asked staff to explain the stopwork orders reported by journalist­s and to say if RTG has missed any constructi­on milestones.

Deans told the Citizen that she’s surprised the city hasn’t proactivel­y provided updates to council, especially in light of recent mishaps, such as a crane toppling at the east tunnel portal last Wednesday.

The city and RTG are in lockstep when it comes to the project’s safety record, even though they are frequently challenged by the Ottawa and District Labour Council.

RTG says the stop-work orders have related to isolated matters that don’t affect the overall constructi­on schedule.

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