Just a few years after undergoing an extensive renovation, the transit centre on the south side of West Edmonton Mall has closed and a new, temporary replacement has opened on the north side of the mall.
The location on 87 Avenue and 175 Street closed on Sunday to accommodate Valley Line West LRT construction, and will remain shuttered for five to six years, according to the City of Edmonton.
The new interim location is on 90 Avenue, beside the West Edmonton Mall Inn, where the old Edmonton Elks park-and-ride used to operate before it relocated west to the Lewis Farms Transit Centre.
The old West Edmonton Mall Transit Centre opened in 1984, and underwent a year-long, $3-million renovation in 2016-2017.
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The transformation included a larger, heated waiting area with 80 per cent more seating space, improved platforms and sidewalks, better outdoor lighting and new public art.
The Valley Line LRT construction is split into two phases: the first leg, a 13-kilometre stretch from Mill Woods in the southeast to downtown, is nearly complete and has moved into the testing and commissioning phase.
Construction on the $2.6-billion western leg of the LRT line from downtown to the west end is scheduled to begin next year and is expected to take five to six years to complete.
Last fall, the City of Edmonton chose Marigold Infrastructure Partners to build the western extension. Marigold Infrastructure Partners is made up of team members Colas, Parsons, Standard General, Francl Architecture, Fast & Epp and Stantec.
The city anticipates the Valley Line West project will generate 8,800 jobs in the province and 2,700 across Canada.
From end to end, the Valley Line will run 27 kilometres from Mill Woods to Lewis Farms.
— With files from Caley Ramsay, Global News
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