The western extension could be the most technically sensitive part of the $4.6 billion three-direction Stage 2 project
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Expansion of the western forked LRT is now delayed for up to a year, but additional hurdles could continue to affect the original schedule for delivering the Stage 2 project.
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It means that Far West transit passengers may not get better access to the Confederation Line until 2026.
A quarterly O-Train project update to council revealed the city’s latest assessment of the project that extends the LRT to Algonquin College and Moodie Drive.
“The city is working closely with the East West Connectors (EWC) to maintain the Confederation Line extension schedule,” according to Michael Morgan, director of rail construction for the city, who sent the update to the council on Friday.
“The project is on original schedule in the east for May 2024 delivery, but there are significant schedule pressures in the western segment of up to a year. The potential impacts of labor strikes, supply problems and other events in 2022 are still under review.”
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The western section, which includes two cut and cover tunnels, is under contract to be completed by May 2025.
In recent months, the city had been forecasting that there could be a delay on the western project in the range of three months. Staff had been working with EWC, a partnership of Kiewit and Vinci Group, to review the schedule.
The western extension could be the most technically sensitive part of the $4.6 billion three-direction Stage 2 project.
Part of the LRT’s western leg involves a tunnel roughly between Dominion Station (to be renamed Kìchì Sìbì Station) and Lincoln Fields Station. There will be a shorter tunnel between Connaught Park and Queensview Station.
The city has said construction of the longer three-kilometre tunnel faced initial challenges with the discovery of deeper clay, but was not characterized as a technical problem.
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When it comes to labor challenges, many construction workers in the city, including crane operators and road builders, went on strike earlier this year as they settled contract disputes.
On the other side of town, EWC has managed to keep the eastern extension of Trim Road in line with the contracted completion target of November 2024.
SNC-Lavalin, under its project name TransitNEXT, has the expansion contract for the north-south Trillium line. The section was originally contracted for completion in August 2022, but the city has been warning the council about a delay to 2023.
Morgan’s update to the council on Friday said the Trillium Line is on track for completion in the summer of 2023, but noted the same construction variables as the Confederation Line, including labor and supply issues, that could affect the timeline.
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Good news for the Trillium Line project is that all seven new Stadler trains have arrived in Ottawa and modifications to the existing Alstom LINT trains have been completed.
As the Stage 2 contractors work on their projects and the city makes payments to the businesses, there are still outstanding financial issues in Stage 1.
The federal and Ontario governments are each withholding $60 million while a third-party Stage 1 audit is completed. The top governments each committed up to $600 million to the $2.2 billion Stage 1 project, which is also the subject of of a provincial consultation.
Morgan’s update to the council said no money has been withheld from higher governments in Stage 2.
