Valley Line West LRT
Location: Edmonton
Status: Under construction
Value of Partnership: $2.67 billion (inclusive of the costs associated with the DBF for the infrastructure, owner’s costs, land acquisition, LRV fleet expansion, etc.)
Type of P3: DBF
Handback: N/A
Awards: 2021 Gold Award for Project Development, National Awards for Innovation & Excellence in P3s
This $2.67-billion, 14-kilometre light-rail extension is the second stage of the City of Edmonton’s Valley Line. The design-build-finance project, which entered its RFP phase and reached financial close during the pandemic in 2020, bundles together design, system integration and construction into one contract. It also is the first to embed a community benefits agreement for a major capital project in Edmonton.
With its 14 street-level stops and two elevated stations, the extension will help connect city neighbourhoods and reduce congestion, with LRT stops downtown at all major city hospitals and the city’s largest tourist attraction, West Edmonton Mall. Construction between downtown and Lewis Farms started in 2021.
Once the west line is operational, both stages of the Valley Line will operate contiguously with no transfer points or perceived break in service for passengers despite the fact both are being delivered using different P3 consortiums.
Partners: The City of Edmonton and Marigold Infrastructure Partners (Colas Canada and Parsons Corporation)
Other Participants:
Public Sector: Aird & Berlis – Legal Advisor; ConnectEd Transit Partnership – Owner’s Engineer: AECOM, Hatch, DIALOG, ISL Engineering, SMA Consulting, Spencer Environmental, Stewart Group, Thurber; Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance (EY) – Procurement, Financial and Commercial Advisors; North Star Consultancy – Operations & Maintenance Advisors
Private Sector: Fast + Epp (Structural subcontractor); Francl Architecture (Architectural and SUI subcontractor); Scotiabank (Lead bank); Stantec (Geotechnical subcontractor); B. Larkin & Associates Ltd., and Owen D. Pawson Law Corporation, a joint venture (Fairness Advisors)
