TORONTO – Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) officials are defending the Leslie Street streetcar after documents revealed the cost had ballooned to over $100 million.
The TTC is asking for approval of close to $105 million for a roughly 800 metre stretch of track that connects the streetcar network on Queen Street East to the new Leslie Barns maintenance and storage facility.
The new maintenance facility is needed for the new, larger streetcars.
In 2009, the TTC board initially approved the project at a cost of $14 million.
But after further investigation and a city request to replace the sewer underneath the road, the cost has increased substantially.
“I can say unequivocally that we are not over budget on Leslie,” TTC Chair Karen Stintz said Wednesday. “Our budget is now becoming crystallized and we now know that the extent of the sewer work has expanded.”
The original estimate of $14 million was for track alone, TTC CEO Andy Byford said, noting that further investigation revealed utility improvements and essential fixes of the sewer underneath the track.
The replacement of the sewers underneath the track represent the majority of the budget increase.
The 80-year-old sewer was full of “contaminated soil and cap,” which the city is required to remove.
“This is cost avoided,” Byford said, noting the sewer would eventually have to be replaced. He said if replacement was done after the streetcar tracks were installed, it would be even more expensive and “ridiculously disruptive.”
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