Final contract signed for Eglinton Crosstown LRT

Metrolinx, Infrastructure Ontario and Crosslinx Transit Solutions  have signed the final contract to complete the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit project.

Crosslinx’s P3 proposal will deliver the Crosstown LRT by 2021. Using the Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) delivery model, Crosslinx’s winning proposal commits the consortium to:

• • design, construct and finance an integrated transit system consisting of 25 stations/stops, track work, signaling, communications and other required infrastructure
  • maintain the LRT system for 30 years, including lifecycle repair and renewal of building and system components.

The contract between Crosslinx, Metrolinx and IO is valued at approximately $9.1 billion (adjusted for inflation), which reflects payments during construction, a substantial completion payment and the monthly service payments during the concession period.

Crosslinx Transit Solutions is a consortium made up of EllisDon, ACS Infrastructure Canada, Aecon, and SNC-Lavalin. Financing for the P3 project is provided by National Bank Financial Inc. and Scotia Capital Inc. as Underwriters; Alberta Treasury Branches, Caisse Centrale Desjardins, The Bank of Nova Scotia, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. and Toronto-Dominion Bank as Mandate Lead Arrangers; and The Bank of Nova Scotia and National Bank Financial Inc. have acted as Co-Financial Advisors for the project.

Though most construction work will be completed by early 2021, commissioning and training for the service will be carried out through to 2021 to meet the in-service date for the LRT.

At the peak of construction, Crosslinx estimates that approximately 2,500 workers will work on the project and that 90 percent of the labour will come from the Greater Toronto Area.

The Crosstown is a light rail transit line that will run across Eglinton Avenue between Mount Dennis (Weston Road) and Kennedy Station. The 19-kilometre corridor will include a 10- kilometre underground portion between Keele Street and Laird Drive. The 25 stations and stops will link to bus routes, three subway stations and various GO Transit lines. It will include a maintenance and storage facility and operations and control centre.

Crosslinx’s proposal provides an innovative approach with new, fully accessible stations designed using Metrolinx’s principles of Design Excellence, upgrades to streetscaping, trail and pedestrian connections, including bike lanes, providing the largest single expansion of bicycle parking in Toronto’s history.

Under separate Metrolinx contracts, tunnels and utility work began in 2011 and significant progress has been made with tunnelling on the western segment between Black Creek Drive and Allen Road.