TransEd optimistic on next steps on Valley Line LRT

The company responsible for Edmonton’s long-delayed Valley Line LRT is optimistic about the next steps.

TransEd shared Tuesday that the structural work to repair faulty pillars is essentially done, and they can now drive the trains onto elevated tracks for testing.

The 13-kilometre line that will connect Mill Woods to downtown started construction in 2016 and was scheduled to open in 2020 before being hit with the pandemic and other delays.

Edmonton LRT. (Photo Credit: CityNews staff)

TransEd was preparing for an opening in the summer of 2022, when in August, cracks were discovered in the piers that held up the elevated portion of the track. Engineers later determined that steel reinforcement within the piers was inadequate.

“We are at the last chapter now.” TransEd CEO Ronald Joncas told reporters Tuesday that the company is “100 per cent confident that these piers are fully strengthened to the design requirements.”

Roughly 30 out of 44 piers needed some type of repair work and left the company unable to drive trains on elevated tracks even for testing. TransEd saying the repairs are 94 per cent done, and now that all structural concerns are addressed testing of the whole line will begin before the New Year.

But despite the optimism, the company is not commenting publicly on when the line will open to passengers.

“I want to give you an estimate, [but] I will not give you an estimate today,” Joncas said. Adding a third-party validation, they don’t want to rush the process by making timelines public.

But when asked if he is optimistic about the line in 2023, Joncas laughed saying “obviously yes,” and when pressed about the possibility of an opening this winter he said, “everything is possible.”

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Both TransEd and mayor Amarjeet Sohi reminding taxpayers the company, and not the city, are on the hook for the added costs.

“I can tell you, it’s not cheap.” Joncas was unable to say exactly how much the continued delay on the $1.8 billion project is costing TransEd in repairs and contract costs.

“Yes, it doesn’t cost us more, but that is no comfort for people living in Mill Woods or Bonnie Doon or Strathearn,” mayor Amarjeet Sohi told CityNews in a year-end interview on Monday.

“It has been the most frustrating part of my time on city council as mayor,” Sohi stressing the city will continue to work with TransEd to ensure the line is safe when it opens.

Joncas says getting the repairs from 94 per cent to 100 per cent is largely aesthetic, like removing scaffolding and cleaning around the sites. Some scaffolding will remain up, while they work on making the repairs more visually pleasing.

Valley Line LRT. (Photo Credit: Rod Maldaner, CityNews)

TransEd’s contract with the city is a Public-Private Partnership (P3) and requires the company to maintain and operate the line for 30 years.

Joncas hopes this gives riders confidence they are doing everything possible to make sure the line is safe before opening.

With the testing of the trains, TransEd is asking all Edmontonians to be cautious around the tracks.

“We are aware of the pedestrian jaywalking across the line and not using the crosswalk,” says Joncas. “This is unsafe and dangerous behaviour.”

Unlike the capital and metro lines, there are no guard rails to stop a pedestrian from walking across the tracks when a train is coming. Instead, it is treated like a normal crosswalk with signals to let pedestrians know when it is safe to pass.

“If you see a track, expect a train.”