Southeast LRT construction delayed, but not stalled
10
2011
Recently, Council approved a plan for the Southeast LRT to Mill Woods. This was a major, exciting step forward for our city. However, the original timeline for completion -- by 2016 -- was set based on the assumption that infrastructure development would be stimulated in the next few years by Expo 2017, with other orders of government showing strong commitment to this development. With Expo no longer on the table, we have to revise our expectations and build the SE LRT in stages. I remain fully committed to seeing through development of the LRT. I will continue to advocate for funding from the federal and provincial governments, and for the City of Edmonton to continue to set aside its own funds for this project.
The first stage of SE LRT expansion will be from downtown to Whitemud Drive and 75th Street. At this site a maintenance facility and parking lot will be constructed. The LRT will not terminate at Whitemud and 75th Street -- this is just the first stage of construction. Following this stage, we will continue to expand further south and west as funding becomes available.
This phased approach means that, though we do not currently have the over $3 billion required for the entire network, we nevertheless push ahead.
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