The Government of Alberta’s share of funding for Calgary’s Green Line LRT project is in jeopardy, according to a letter from the province to Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek.
In the letter, obtained by Global News, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen noted that he has “serious concerns” with the shortened LRT line, and that the province won’t be contributing its $1.53 billion share of the project.
“The Green Line is fast becoming a multi-billion dollar boondoggle that will serve very few Calgarians,” Dreeshen said in the letter. “This is unacceptable, and our government is unable to support or provide funding for this revised Green Line Stage 1 scope as presented in the city’s most recent business case.”
The shortened first stage of the Green Line would run between Eau Claire and Lynwood/Milican, instead of the originally scoped 18-kilometre line from Eau Claire to Shepard. The changes saw the removal of six stations from the first stage and the tunnel under the downtown core shortened.
The reduced scope, approved in a 10-5 vote in late July, was in response to cost pressures that have risen the total budget to $6.2 billion.
Council also voted in favour of increasing the City of Calgary’s portion of funding for the Green Line by $705 million to cover those additional costs.
At the time, Gondek said the revisions were a “responsible way of moving forward with this vital and historic investment in city infrastructure.”
In his letter, dated Sept. 3, Dreeshen acknowledged the “hundreds of millions” already spent on the project, but said “throwing good money after bad is simply not an option for our government.”
Dreeshen also noted concerns he had with projected ridership numbers for the shortened line, a drop to 32,000 from the originally estimated 55,000 daily users.
The provincial government did not respond to Global News’ request for comment.
In his letter, the minister also took aim at former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, who is currently the leader of Alberta’s opposition NDP.
“To be clear, we recognize your and the current council’s efforts to try and salvage the untenable position you’ve been placed in by the former mayor, and his utter failure to competently oversee the planning, design and implementation of a cost-effective transit plan that could have served hundreds of thousands of Calgarians in the city’s southern and northern communities,” Dreeshen wrote.
According to Dreeshen, the provincial government will look to contract an independent third party to provide the province and city with “alternative costed proposals” to integrate the Green Line with the existing Red and Blue lines along 7 Avenue, and to a future “Grand Central Station” near the site of Calgary’s new arena.
He said the province would like the Green Line to continue above ground to “at least” the community of Shepard, “and hopefully beyond using the current budget in your most recent business case.”
“The report will also examine a potential extension of an above-ground or elevated rail line from 7 Avenue to Eau Claire in order to bring some cost certainty to that portion of the line, should it be pursued,” Dreeshen wrote in his letter.
The letter didn’t indicate any timelines for such a review into the Green Line’s alignment.
Calgary’s executive committee meets Wednesday following a legislative break in August, and the province’s letter is expected to be discussed during that meeting.