Council asked to approve $152M in additional contingency funding for Stage 2 LRT
City councillors are being asked to approve additional contingency funds for Stage 2 LRT after all three branches of the project were delayed.
Stage 2, which expands LRT to the east, west, and south, was approved in 2019 with a contingency fund of $152.5 million to account for delays, issues, and rising costs. In 2022, council approved increasing the contingency budget to $177.6 million.
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
- Sign up now for our nightly CTV News Ottawa newsletter
Now, staff say, nearly all of that money is spent or has been committed to improvements to Stage 2. Approximately $172.5 is spoken for, contributing to design improvements, design changes and regulatory updates. The lengthy delays the project has since faced have also increased costs on staff and contractor labour, external legal support and consulting.
Other factors increasing costs include the noise barriers being built along Highway 417 and upgrades at the transit control centre. Recent regulatory changes that prevent dumping excess soil from excavation at the Trail Waste Facility also means additional fees and hauling mileage to bring excess dirt elsewhere. The city says more than 2.4 million cubic metres of soil will be excavated to construct the Stage 2 Confederation Line Project, which equals approximately 278,000 standard commercial dump truck loads over the lifetime of the project.
City staff are requesting an additional $42 million for project oversight costs, $35 million for major variations, $25 million for soil management, and $50 million for general contingencies.
"As a result of the emerging issues, and with consideration that the originally contemplated contingency fund and project budget was intended to be allocated through to original completion of Trillium Line 2022 and the Confederation Line in 2025, the remaining budget will be insufficient to deal with expected remaining pressures," a report prepared for the finance and corporate services committee says.
The city must also refinance some of its debt due to a change in gas tax funding from the provincial government.
The dotted line had already been signed on Stage 2 LRT in early 2019 when the Ontario government decided to cancel the planned doubling of provincial gas tax revenue. That extra money had already been included in the $4.6 billion plan for Stage 2.
Staff are recommending removing the remaining amount of unfunded provincial gas tax of $457 million and offsetting it with an increase in development charge revenue of $433 million and transit tax debt of $24 million.
The LRT subcommittee heard this week that the city will not commit to a firm date for opening the Stage 2 Trillium Line expansion, which was originally supposed to have been completed by August 2022. OC Transpo general manager Renée Amilcar is now tentatively saying spring of 2024. The eastern extension of the Confederation Line to Trim Road has been delayed until early 2025 and the western leg to Moodie Drive and Algonquin College isn't set to be complete until late 2026, about 17 months behind schedule.
The finance and corporate services committee meets Nov. 7. If approved, plans will rise to city council on Nov. 22.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
The dreams of a 60-year-old beauty contestant come to an abrupt end in Argentina
A 60-year-old woman saw her dreams of becoming the oldest Miss Universe contestant in history melt away in a haze of sequins and selfies Saturday at Argentina’s annual beauty pageant.
At least 15 dead after severe weather carves path of ruin across multiple U.S. states in the South
Powerful storms killed at least 15 people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
2 died in plane crash near Squamish, B.C., police confirm
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
After more than 100 years, Newfoundland's unknown soldier returns home
An unknown Newfoundland soldier, who fought and died on the battlefields in northeastern France during the First World War, is back home this weekend for the first time in more than a hundred years.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.