Calgary's Green Line discussions focus on alignment

Premier Danielle Smith says she hasn't spoken with Calgary's Mayor Jyoti Gondek about the Green Line recent, but her transportation minister has been in touch with the city.

Premier Danielle Smith says she is continuing to meet with Mayor Jyoti Gondek about Calgary's Green Line project and her government remains committed to bringing the line all the way to Seton.

The premier spoke about the topic at a news conference about funding for energy technology in Leduc on Monday, saying that while she hasn't spoken with Gondek recently, discussions are still taking place.

"I know that (Transportation Minister) Devin Dreeshen met with her last week and we do have regular committee meetings scheduled every couple of weeks to get an update on the project," Smith told reporters.

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She said the current challenge for the project has to do with the above-ground alignment.

"When we brought in AECOM, one of the things they had told us is they had to do the same thing in Austin," Smith said.

"(It was) a very expensive underground alignment at a cost of a billion dollars per kilometre. It just became over budget, so they had to re-engineer it above ground, either at-grade or elevated."

Smith said an elevated track costs about $300 million per kilometre while at-grade carries a price tag of approximately $100 million per kilometre.

"When we can come up with the alignment, we'll know how much additional dollars we have to see how much further south we can go.

"But our objective is to try to get it all the way to Seton."

The provincial government hired AECOM to conduct a review of the Green Line and come up with recommendations for an alignment of the track through the downtown core. (File)

When the city originally looked at the Green Line project in 2016, it went with the expensive tunnel option, basing its decision on public feedback and considerations of traffic disruption, property values, noise and even shadows cast by an elevated track.

The elevated option had other issues, such as needing to manage the line amongst Calgary's Plus 15 pathway network.

In September, the provincial government threatened the cancellation of the Green Line project, which it said was billions over budget and would not serve enough of the city's population.

In the weeks afterward, Dreeshen said the province was working with city officials on an alternate plan for the major infrastructure project, hiring a third-party contractor to conduct a review.

Smith says AECOM's assessment will help determine the proper alignment and allow the project to move ahead.

"What we're working on is getting those proposals on the table, getting the city in alignment with where we think it needs to go, and so that's the next stage."

More than $1.3 billion has already been spent on the Green Line. Those costs include purchasing land and equipment as well as construction.

AECOM's report is expected in December.