The crew has been working around the clock since January 2012, digging twin tunnels between 105 Avenue and Churchill Station through which LRT will start running in 2014, the department stated. "The government of Canada is proud to have invested in this important job-creating project to expand Edmonton’s Light Rail Transit system," said Rona Ambrose, minister of public works and government Services, minister for status of women, and member of parliament for Edmonton-Spruce Grove. "We will continue to support local infrastructure priorities that promote growth, job creation and economic prosperity right here in Edmonton."
In addition to the completion of the North LRT tunnel, this year’s work included construction of all surface track for the North LRT and foundation work for the Grant MacEwan, Kingsway/Royal Alex and NAIT LRT stations. Development of the stations will continue over the winter months.
The CAD 755M project was jointly funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta and the City of Edmonton. The Government of Canada is contributing up to CAD 100M from the Building Canada Fund. The Province of Alberta is contributing CAD 497M in GreenTRIP funding and the City of Edmonton is contributing CAD 158M.
"I congratulate the City for making excellent progress on this project," said Ric McIver, Alberta transportation minister. "The Alberta government was pleased to invest CAD 497M in GreenTRIP funding to help Edmontonians get to where they need to be. GreenTRIP is a great example of how the province partners with municipalities to develop effective and practical infrastructure solutions for Albertans."
