The city has finalized the finances of its agreement with Rideau Transit Group to construct Ottawa’s $2.1 billion light-rail line, the consortium’s companies announced Wednesday.
Toronto-based ACS Infrastructure will lead the contract to design, build, finance and maintain the city’s LRT system. Construction cost is estimated at $1.8 billion, with an additional $300 million allocated for buying the necessary land.
Engineering firm SNC Lavalin, construction company EllisDon Corp. and Ottawa-based BBB Architects are also part of the group.
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Rideau Transit Group, which was named as the winning bidder by the city in December, will be responsible for the construction of 12.5 kilometres of track, 13 new stations and a 2.5 kilometre tunnel underneath downtown Ottawa.
In addition to the construction, the consortium will widen parts of Highway 417, supply the light-rail transit vehicles, build a maintenance and storage facility and provide 30 years of maintenance.
Design and construction is slated to begin immediately, with service expected in spring 2018.
“We are proud to partner with the City of Ottawa to deliver a project that will bring great benefits to the city and its residents,” stated EllisDon president and CEO Geoff Smith in a company release.
“We recognize that the civil infrastructure market is growing and we have structured the company to respond to this need.”
Much of the work that will need to be done on the light-rail line is still up for grabs, and members of the winning consortium say they will be looking to local firms to do a lot of the heavy lifting over the estimated five-year construction period.
