Construction on phase one of Green Line LRT to begin this fall

CALGARY — Phase one of the Green Line LRT project will go ahead this fall.

That coming from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who visited Calgary on Wednesday to announce the long-delayed project will finally be moving ahead.

WATCH: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau answers questions surrounding the Green Line LRT project in Calgary. 

“This fall, construction on phase one of the LRT Green Line will begin in Calgary’s Beltline and Downtown. We’re also looking forward to working with the province and the city on Phase Two, which would see the line extended to the north to reach people in this part of Calgary as well,” said Trudeau.

The announcement from the Prime Minister comes not long after the Alberta government confirmed it would be committing $1.53B to the project.

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“What does this mean for you?” asked Trudeau. “It means a faster, cheaper commute, no one wants to waste time and money idling in traffic, this will help you get home to the kids sooner, instead of being stuck in traffic. Of course, investing in a major project like this means investing in workers to plan, build, and then operate the line.”

Trudeau says during construction of the project, 20,000 jobs will be created, with 400 long-term positions being created once the project is complete.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi says it’s exciting for the project to be moving forward, even if the project could’ve started a year ago.

“What we had was a year of dealy, in a year of extraordinary cost increases throughout construction in general, and in the end, nothing changed,” he said.

Nenshi says this may finally be the last time he talks about the project, adding that the focus for the next mayor, along with city council, will be to secure funding for the second phase of the project.

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“The Evolution of the Green Line”

Also in attendance on Wednesday was Ward 12 councillor Shane Keating.

The Green Line LRT is one that is close to Keating, as he’s been the most vocal advocate of the project over the last few years, and to see it finally coming to fruition is a nod to all the work he put in to get it to this point.

Wednesday may as well have been a dream for him, as he came prepared with a book some councillors wrote called “The Evolution of the Green Line.”

“Eleven years ago, my hair was much darker, my midsection was much smaller, and the Green Line was a mere twinkle in my eye,” said Keating as he read through chapter one.

He went on to read about three councillors, who were very new at the time, who wanted to look further than spending money on little projects, and instead allocate that money for something bigger than could change the way the city looked at transportation.

“That led to a successful notice of motion that I put forward that defeated administration’s recommendations, setting a new direction,” he read. “The City of Calgary realized that there was a new transit sheriff in town.

“From this new direction, a very humble beginning was conceived, and $12 million was set aside to complete a functional study of the southeast light rail transit line, and develop a transit-oriented development strategy.”

Keating then moved on to talk about his work over the following years to include the then Southeast LRT into every report, paragraph, and sentence he could to keep the discussion rolling.

“This brought us to the 2013 election, and the $52 million question: The tax room. Between the province of Alberta, and the city of Calgary, the survey says that 83 per cent of the respondents said  ‘keep the tax room and dedicate it to the Green Line.’

“If in November of ’13 had my notice of motion for the development of a $520 million fund failed, the new southeast and north-central transitway would not have come, and we would not be here today.”

Keating then thanked both Trudeau and Nenshi for their behind the scenes work to make the Green Line a possibility, also nodding towards Jason Kenney and the Alberta government for believing in the positive impacts the project can have. He then turned to thank several of his councillors for their support over the years.

With Keating not running for re-election this year, the Ward 12 councillor held back tears as he handed off the book to the next councillors that will take hold of the project, whoever they may be.