City awards contract for Capital Line South LRT expansion project

The proposed above-ground Heritage Valley North Station and crossing at Ellerslie Road for the Capital Line South LRT expansion. (Source: City of Edmonton)

Days after it was revealed city council privately approved an additional $240 million for the Capital Line South LRT project, a contract for Phase 1 of the expansion has been announced.

The 4.5-kilometre expansion will see the Capital Line expanded from Century Park to north of Ellerslie Road along 111 Street.

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"The city completed negotiations and formally awarded the contract to Capital Line Design-Build Ltd., a member of the Ledcor Group of Companies, with AECOM as their design partner," the city said in a Wednesday news release. "Over the coming months, the Ledcor team will begin detailed design with major construction along 111 Street anticipated to begin in 2025."

Construction will include an LRT underpass at 23 Avenue, two bridges (one across Blackmud Creek and one across Anthony Henday Drive), two stations (Twin Brooks station and Heritage Valley North station connecting to the Heritage Valley Transit Centre and Park and Ride) and an operations and maintenance facility south of Anthony Henday Drive.

"Our city is experiencing rapid growth," Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said in the news release. "As more people choose to call Edmonton home, we need to respond to the added pressure on our transportation network. The Capital Line South Extension will help improve sustainable mobility options as we grow."

The total price tag of the project is estimated to be $1.34 billion, with funding coming from all three levels of government.