Edmonton fast-tracking LRT road work using full road closures

Edmonton city council has voted to fully close intersections to allow faster work on the west LRT. Jeremy Thompson reports.

Edmonton city council voted unanimously on Tuesday to move ahead with a new plan to get back on track with Valley Line West LRT road work.

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Work on the Valley Line West LRT expansion began in 2022. While some elements have been finished on time, road construction along Stony Plain Road has failed to meet deadlines.

The new plan will see contractors Marigold Infrastructure Partners completely close down sections of road for seven to nine weeks, allowing crews to work 20 hours each day with the goal of finishing the required road work by the end of this year.

“This is a great result,” said Jonathan Cox, Marigold construction manager. “We’re really excited to work on these intersections efficiently: get in, get out and overall reduce disruption to the community.”

“There’s a lot of work still to do to work out the details, but we are pretty optimistic with our contract partners that we can get this work completed,” Brian Latte, city director of the Valley Line LRT, said.

• New LRT construction plan offering faster finish for ‘short-term pain’

Stewart Fraser is vice-president of the Cantero group, which owns West Block Glenora. He said tenants have endured years of construction, and he supports speeding things up as long as businesses are being considered.

“Today’s discussion over a full closure of 142 Street for northbound traffic would have catastrophic issues,” he said. “Let’s get some common sense here, let’s push the schedule and let’s ensure that these businesses can stay active so we’re not putting them out of business.”

During council’s discussion, Marigold committed to finding solutions that would keep businesses accessible during construction. Penalties for missing deadlines were also discussed.

“I was very clear to our administration that, as a representative of Edmontonians who have seen a lot of frustration on this, someone needs to be held accountable if those construction timelines are not met,” he continued.

No details were offered on how Marigold will be incentivized to finish work on time. Before the closure begins, Latte said the city will work with the contractor on those details as well as ways to address access concerns from the local community.

“We heard very clearly on some things that they want to have us include, and we’ll endeavor to get that done,” he added.

Construction on the approximately $2.7-billion Valley Line West LRT is now expected to be finished in late 2028, with the LRT open to riders the year after that.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson