A large portion of the Green Line alignment will be salvaged as a part of ongoing work between the City of Calgary and the Government of Alberta.

In a joint statement issued Monday, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Alberta Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen said that productive discussions have taken place over the past few weeks.

The latest news comes after the province refused to fund the originally planned Phase 1 of the $6.25 billion Green Line due to increasing costs, a significantly truncated line and thus a large chunk of projected ridership.

Meanwhile, the City of Calgary said that they could no longer take on the financial risk of the project, and began a wind-down of the current Green Line project.

Since the back half of September, the two sides have been working together to determine the next steps, while limiting financial impact to Calgary and using much of the work done to date.

“Through these discussions, we have agreed to advance the work from 4 Street SE to Shepard. This decision not only works to preserve more than 700 jobs, but also builds on the shared investments we have made towards the Green Line,” the statement read.

“As part of our meetings, the province reaffirmed that the previously committed funding of $1.53B remains available to support the continuation of this work during the interim period.”

LiveWire Calgary has confirmed that there is agreement on the current 4 Street SE to Shepard alignment (including stations and track locations), preserving much of the enabling work that’s been done to date between those two destinations.

Still outstanding, however, is a decision on the contracts involving the low-floor light rail vehicles the City had already purchased. There is no indication that has been resolved.

We have to move it forward: Coun. Carra

Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said that at the time, he was “deeply sympathetic” to the protest vote of some of his colleagues on continuing pursuit of the transit line with the province.

Still, he said the project has to move forward.

“We have to do everything we can to waste as little of the gobsmacking amounts of taxpayer dollars that have been wasted,” he said.  

“Everything’s really going to hinge on how much the province is going to come to the table with. They seem to be under the fantastical misapprehension that they’re going to deliver way more for way less.”

The joint statement also said that AECOM is developing an alternative for the downtown, on behalf of the province.

“This alignment will be either at-grade or elevated and will connect into the Red and Blue Lines, the new Event Centre, and to southeast Calgary communities,” the statement read.  

“The City is assisting in this review and meeting regularly with provincial administration and AECOM to inform their efforts.” 

Coun. Carra, however, said the challenge will be in figuring out how to go through the downtown from the southeast. That’s always been the stumbling block, and why the City had determined the best route was underground.

“How do you do so in a way that doesn’t trigger a whole bunch of other necessary infrastructure upgrades on the Red and Blue lines, or bring traffic to a standstill,” he said.

While Carra was reluctant to call Thursday’s update good news, he said it was a step forward in delivering transit.

“What they’re doing is not insane, which is what they were doing before. Whether it’s bright, remains to be seen,” he said.

“My job is to make sure that in the face of their unbelievable wastefulness, the ignorance driving the wastefulness, that that we minimize the damage.”

The Calgary Construction Association, in a media statement said it was a positive sign to see the project back on the rails.

“The Green Line LRT is essential not only for connecting hundreds of thousands of Calgarians, but also for driving job creation and economic growth in our city,” said Bill Black, President & CEO of the Calgary Construction Association.

“We are proud to see the City of Calgary and the Province of Alberta working together to ensure this project stays on track. Every step forward is a win for both Calgary’s commuters and the construction industry.”