Higher cost estimates could spur change for Calgary's Green Line LRT project
There are a number of design possibilities on the table for Calgary's Green Line because of the higher costs faced by the monumental infrastructure project.
The project's board says a key risk was observed when some of the sub-contractors came back with estimates that were higher than anticipated.
"The budget for this project was pre-COVID," said Green Line CEO Darshpreet Bhatti.
"And the market is very different. We're not the only project that is facing these challenges."
The details, from a quarterly report, will be presented to council on Tuesday, with much of the meeting taking place behind closed doors.
"If there are additional asks needed, this is something that we're obviously going to discuss with provincial and federal partners as well," said Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
"These projects are very big and there are sometimes tweaks that need to be done. So again, I'm looking forward to the experts weighing in on what's happening."
Although the cost overruns are being kept secret, the board does promise to release the increased numbers in either May or June.
"I've been concerned about this project since Day 1," said Ward 1's Coun. Sonya Sharp.
"Everybody knows that costs are increasing on any project and a project of this magnitude is going to see, probably, added costs."
But she says it's not time to pull the plug.
"What would people think of the city if we just all of a sudden folded up and moved away?" she said.
"How would contractors ever want to work in a city like this again? So I think there's a more of a reputational risk here."
A citizens' committee group that wants to rethink the Green Line says it's not surprised by the expected added costs.
"We believe the real costs will be $8.5 (billion) to $10 billion," said member Steve Allan.
Allan says he would like to see the project focus on the south side of the city, to invite new commuters on the LRT from downtown to Seton, at the South Health Campus.
"It makes no sense for it to be running from Shepard to Eau Claire and tunnelling under downtown Calgary, which is full of water," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Tornadoes collapse buildings and level homes in Nebraska and Iowa
Tornadoes wreaked havoc Friday in the Midwest, causing a building to collapse with dozens of people inside and destroying and damaging hundreds of homes, many around Omaha, Neb.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.