LRT to Eastgate hinges on hunt for savings

The good news: Less property will be needed at Queenston circle

Hamiltonians woke up Thursday to a planned light rail transit line that is three kilometres longer — but also potentially short on building cash.

Council voted to push ahead with the $1-billion LRT Wednesday after a last-minute provincial agreement to extend the eastern end of the line to Eastgate Square, rather than the previously approved Queenston traffic circle. But the promise from Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca didn’t come with extra cash, only an ambiguously worded warning the extension hinges on “consideration of available funding to address the gap, if necessary.”

Since council has vowed not to put construction cash into LRT, Metrolinx and the city are now on a critical hunt for project savings.

“We’re confident we can work to fit it in,” said city LRT point person Paul Johnson. “Obviously, we’ll also be leaning on the private sector (bidders) to find creative ways to give us the project we want within the budget we have.”

Metrolinx has provided a range of $150 million to $225 million to extend the LRT line to Eastgate, a major mall and transit node at the edge of Stoney Creek.

Here are some of the challenges and possible savings in play:

The A-line The province provided the extension an inadvertent head-start in February when it axed an earlier plan for a James Street spur to the GO station in favour of pitching bus rapid transit up and down the Aline, from the harbour to the airport.

Johnson said the BRT plan — never widely embraced by council — is now “deferred” so that James Street spur savings of between $100 million and $125 million can be reused to pay for the Eastgate extension.

The Red Hill bridge The biggest funding pitfall for the east leg of LRT is the Queenston Street bridge over the Red Hill Valley Parkway. Project costs will spike if that bridge needs to be replaced.

But Metrolinx project head Andrew Hope said early reports suggest the existing bridge can be modified instead. Expect engineers to be crawling over the bridge for a closer look in the coming weeks.

The terminus The project should save cash simply by swapping in Eastgate Square as the new eastern end of the line. Metrolinx was otherwise on the hook to buy several properties around the traffic circle to make room for both an LRT terminal and a bus-friendly transfer point.

Eastgate, on the other hand, already has a functional, busy bus terminal.

“If we can get away without doing major work on a terminal, that would be good news,” Johnson said.

It’s unclear, though, how much cash Metrolinx has already committed to buying land around the traffic circle. For example, the agency appeared close last year to buying the former City Motor Hotel site, which in turn was previously expropriated by the city.

Hope said Thursday no land purchases have been “finalized” around the traffic circle.

The tracks The city’s original environmental assessment in 2011 — completed as part of its funding pitch to the province — called for centre-running LRT tracks along the easternmost portion of the route.

That decision ended up being “very helpful” now that project planners are scrambling to update the project plan within a matter of weeks, Johnson said. “If the alignment was different, we would have potential major property and traffic issues to work out.”

The planned eastern leg stops won’t change from the original EA, either: one at Parkdale Avenue and another at Nash Road.

The public Because the Eastgate leg of the LRT went through a public environmental assessment process in 2011, project planners believe further “formal” public meetings aren’t needed to meet the requirements of the amended EA.

But the city will hold update meetings for the public as soon as possible, said Johnson, adding he wants to co-ordinate with ward councillors to find the best times and venues.

LRT “community connectors” will also be out within the month to knock on doors of home and business owners who suddenly find themselves back on the LRT route.

If we can get away without doing major work on a terminal (at Eastgate Square), that would be good news. CITY LRT POINT PERSON PAUL JOHNSON