LRT next stage facing construction delays, subcommittee hears

The City of Ottawa’s light rain transit (LRT) subcommittee heard earlier this week that the east extension of the Stage 2 rail system is several weeks behind schedule.

The west extension is 17 months behind schedule, the LRT subcommittee heard on Tuesday, Aug. 29.

Steve Desroches, the chair of the City’s LRT subcommittee, told Wake Up With Rob Snow earlier this week that stage two construction timelines – extending electric LRT into the east and west ends of the city – have slipped as a result of delays at the construction level. Construction of a diesel train commuter service from Bayview into Riverside south is also facing delays.

The subcommitee, which oversees the rollout of Stage 2, is projecting construction of the diesel train system will begin in December 2023, said Desroches. Additionally, the LRT’s eastern extension will be pushed into 2025, and the western extension is delayed into late 2026.

“We’re learning from the first experience in stage one,” he explained. “Setting artificial deadlines and then constantly failing to meet them is not a great way to communicate to the public, so I think we’ve been extremely transparent.”

Desroches goes on to say, contractors have not received any political pressures to rush certain steps or key elements, like testing. Timelines are contingent on ensuring solid performance during testing.

While the subcommittee examines details on how transit projects are progressing, they’re working to ensure taxpayers receive a reliable system that meets rigorous testing in terms of performance, he added.

Desroches said he agrees with Premier Ford, in that the system requires long-term fixes and more reliability before requesting any additional funding that will go to the city of Ottawa.

As more people work remotely, full-time or hybrid, there have been discussions on whether plans to extend the LRT to the suburbs, are worth pursuing.

“One, it’s very expensive and second, we’re looking at what are post-pandemic commuter patterns for the city of Ottawa,” he said.

If the federal government continues with a hybrid work arrangement, there will be less demand for commutes to the downtown core, explained Desroches. The rise of remote work could bring greater employment growth to suburban communities, and this means investments in a bus rapid transit system may be more efficient.

“I think we’re at a fork in the road,” he added. “We need to make a decision whether to continue with light rail or look at a continuously strong case for a bus rapid transit system that would service employment nodes in the east, west and south of suburban communities.”

During the LRT subcommittee meeting Tuesday morning, OC Transpo shared with city staff that most of the lines track work has been complete, but some issues prevent further testing at two stations.

Despite completion of LRT North-South line being pushed back from October to November, the transit service said progress made includes most track work and opening of pedestrian overpasses, such as the overpass at Woodroffe Avenue.

Dows Lake and South Keys stations are still without power, related to the Hydro Ottawa strike, This has prevented two stations from testing with power, and officials said this could delay potential issues from being identified early.

Updates on Trillium line and an action plan are set to come out mid-and-late September. Two reports on the root cause of the latest bearing issue, which led to the LRT being closed for months, will also be released in mid October. The reports will also address other problems, including freezing rain and lightning strikes.