Province, city sign deal guaranteeing Green Line funding

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — Calling to mind the familiar recorded refrain Calgarians hear at CTrain stations to stand behind the yellow line, Alberta’s premier and finance minister joined the city’s mayor in front of a yellow construction fence to make a major announcement about the Green Line LRT.

“This is a very, very big deal,” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi Wednesday.

The big deal is that the province has signed an agreement with the City of Calgary to lock in more than $3 billion in funding for the city’s most ambitious transit project.

Premier Rachel Notley said her government reached a deal with the federal government to each commit around $1.5 billion and pass it over to Calgary to start work on the line, and made it official by signing on the dotted line with the city.

Initially, it was something the province hoped to set in stone last fall.

“Then we had some last-minute paperwork, as is invariably the case,” said Notley. “So, it’s a little bit later actually than we’d originally planned.”

The mayor was visibly happy to make the announcement official, as the Green Line stands as one of his administration’s most important goals.

“Today is different because the money is in place,” said Nenshi. “We will be able to go to the market for procurement over the course of the next couple of months. We will start construction as early as 2020.”

READ MORE: Ottawa making good on promise for Calgary’s Green Line LRT funding

The southern leg of the Green Line, from Shepard in the southeast to 16 Ave. North, will be completed in 2026.

The funding flows over eight years, with construction of the first stage estimated to create more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Environmental goals were also touted in the announcement, as the Green Line is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30,000 tonnes every year after completion.

Plus, the provincial funding is coming from the Climate Leadership Plan — so the premier cautions any future government that may consider scrapping the carbon tax.

“It is from that fund that we have been able to find the money to invest in this major, major infrastructure project. So, if that fund disappears, they will have to find the money elsewhere.”

However, Notley cautions that if that were to happen, we would just be left with a hole in the ground.

Nenshi was more confident that won’t happen.

“Of course, the legislature could do anything — they could dissolve the City of Calgary tomorrow if they really wanted to. But in reality, this train has left the station.”