Edmonton City Council discusses accelerated construction plans for LRT line
City council in Edmonton is currently debating strategies to expedite the ongoing construction projects in the area, though this may initially result in some difficulties.
Listen Records, situated on 124 Street, has dealt with prolonged construction affecting their storefront due to the nearby developments on 104 Avenue/Stony Plain Road. Owner Kris Burwash expressed frustration with the situation, stating, “I've shown up and they'll have the sidewalk in front of our store closed at both ends for an undetermined amount of time.”
Despite years of inconvenience due to transit line work, improvements may soon be on the horizon, albeit with potential short-term challenges. Burwash noted, "We're like ground zero for the construction, so getting rid of it would be great I suppose. I can see the benefit."
The City of Edmonton and Marigold Infrastructure Partners, responsible for the west leg of the Valley Line LRT construction, have proposed an accelerated plan to complete the roadwork. This could result in significant closures at various intersections for weeks or even months at a time.
“We've had so much construction fatigue and I'm hearing it from folks all the time now,” shared Councillor Andrew Knack. “That's part of why I made the motion back in October to say, 'okay, what would it take if we were just gonna get all the road work done this year? What kind of short-term pain would we have to face in order to just be done with it?'”
The initiative may lead to full and partial closures of several intersections around downtown and the west end, with the aim of completing all construction work by the end of November.
The proposed plan involves deploying two teams working 10 hours a day to ensure timely completion. “We're not quite 24 hours a day, but there's gonna be the staff needed to get that done in the timeline that we expect,” Knack added.
Burwash has voiced support for the construction progress, hoping for a swift resolution, but also expressed caution. “They've never completely closed that intersection either though. So it's easy to be like 'Oh yeah I'm sure it'd be great' but famous last words,” he cautioned.
A report detailing the suggestions for construction and the expected impacts will be discussed at the city council meeting on February 11. Just recently, a section of Stony Plain Road reopened after a two-year closure, with the area now accessible to vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.
The stretch between 129th and 139th streets, alongside the newly constructed Stony Plain Road Bridge over Groat Road, was reopened at the end of November. Since December 2022, several roads in the west end had been closed after the demolition of the old bridge, which has been replaced by a new span accommodating LRT tracks.
Significant traffic changes were implemented on Stony Plain Road to facilitate the new LRT tracks, which will connect downtown Edmonton to the west end. The road has been permanently narrowed to one lane in each direction, with most intersections restricted to right in/right out, and left turns banned onto adjacent streets. However, left turns onto Stony Plain Road remain available at 132 Street and 134 Street.
The construction of the $2.6-billion western leg of the LRT, stretching from downtown to the west end, commenced in 2021 and is expected to take five to six years for completion. The Valley Line, once fully operational, will span 27 km from Mill Woods in the southeast to Lewis Farms in the west end.
