Edmonton’s Valley Line should be ready to run later this year

Written by RT&S Staff
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When complete, the Valley Line will connect downtown Edmonton to Mill Woods.

Edmonton’s Valley Line Southeast LRT line is expected to open in late 2021.

The 13-km route connects downtown Edmonton to Mill Woods, and the city’s deputy city manager of infrastructure, Adam Laughlin, confirmed the opening on May 4 while announcing Edmonton’s $1 billion construction plan for this year.

The $1.8 billion first phase of the project has been marred by delays and was supposed to open back in December. Joint venture TransEd will have to perform commissioning and testing before the line officially opens to the public.

The biggest obstacle happened in 2018, when crews discovered a concrete slab the size of a car in the North Saskatchewan River during construction of the Tawatina Bridge.

Laughlin put the 2021 opening square on the shoulders of TransEd, stating there is still a lot of work to do and the line will not be in service until it meets all specifications.

Valley Line construction is one of 268 capital projects buzzing in Edmonton during 2021, and about 93% are on budget and 79% are on schedule.

Laughlin touted that 2020 was a major construction season for the city and “we’ll do it again and we’ll do it safely.”

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