The City of Calgary could get shovels in the ground on a Blue Line extension as early as 2025, but it still needs funding from another order of government.
It’s not the one you think, either.
Last month, the Government of Alberta said an approved Budget 2024 would mean $43 million towards a nearly $160 million Blue Line extension from the Saddletowne Station to 88 Avenue NE. That’s roughly 1 kilometre of track and a new station.
That location would also be the staging point for the as-yet-unfunded Airport Transit Connector. That project would cost an estimated $675 million.
The City of Calgary approved $9 million in last fall’s budget to move ahead with hiring a consultant for the Blue Line extension design, according to Infrastructure Services GM Michael Thompson.
“We still do need another funding partner to come to the table, which is the federal government, and so we’re continuing our advocacy with the federal government to get the complete funding,” Thompson told councillors during question period at the March 19 Regular Meeting of Council.
“It will be ready for construction to start towards the middle or end of next year. If we can have that complete funding package put together, we’ll have shovels in the ground and moving dirt.”
The federal budget is going to be tabled on April 16.
According to City of Calgary documents, there would be an estimated 3,500 passengers each day on the Blue Line link. They estimate there will be 11,000 Calgarians living within 800 metres of that station by 2048, plus 1,200 jobs in that same area by 2028.
More provincial funding also needed
Funding for the Blue Line extension is to be split between three orders of government – municipal, provincial and federal. Last summer, the City of Calgary put forward its provincial and federal budget requests, and in both was a request for $53 million in funding to put towards the project.
The province did commit to $43 million over three years, with a potential fourth year to wrap up their leg of the funding.
After the initial release of the provincial budget, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said it was good news, but was less than what they hoped for to move the project forward.
“We were looking at a one-station extension that would get us to the point of then linking them to the airport,” the mayor said back in February.
“So, one station up and one station over is what we need to do. This would be that additional station.”
Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal, who asked the question that prompted Thompson’s response, said there’s a business case to extend the Blue Line even further than 88 Avenue.
“Let’s take it to Country Hills. You’ve got four new communities and by the time Cornerstone is going to be built out, it’s going to be the biggest community when it comes to the number of doors,” he said.
He said economies of scale with both soft and hard costs would make it common sense to extend the line even further to the north. Ultimately, Dhaliwal wants to see it get to 128 Avenue.
