Latest report shows Valley Line construction falling further behind

Construction on the southeast leg of the Valley Line LRT is slipping further behind, according to a new city report.

TransEd, the company in charge of the line, had only completed 68 per cent of the work it was expected to by June 2019, according to thelatest quarterly report. That means it's likely more than a year behind schedule, Ward 11 Coun. Mike Nickel said.

The expected completion date was December 2020.

When finished, the southeast legwill runfrom Mill Woods in the south to downtown. Nickel saidhe'd like to see construction in hissouth-side ward completed.

• Valley Line Southeast LRT behind schedule, Edmonton council told

"I just want them out of my ward," he said.

TransEd spokesperson Sue Heumansaid the update is a city report, and would not comment on it on Saturday.

"Our target service commencement date is Dec. 15, 2020, but we are trending late,"Heuman said in an email."We are working diligently on initiatives to improve the schedule."

The latest quarterly report states that the project remains on budget, and that the scope of the work hasn't changed.

But construction completion targets have gradually slid in recent years. In late 2016, the project was at 99 per cent, but that dropped to 80 per cent by the end of 2017.

• Effort to speed up LRT construction prompts closure of 95th Avenue in Strathearn

Theproject is being delivered through a public-private partnership that requires TransEd to meet certain milestones or face penalties if those milestones aren't met.

Funding for the lineis shared, with $800 million coming from the City of Edmonton, $600 million from the province and $400 million from the federal government.

One of the ways the company has tried to make up time is by closing 95th Avenue in Strathearn, so work could be completed more quickly.

In early spring 2018, crews hit a large concrete mass on the north side of the river, where TransEd is building the Tawatinaw Bridge a crossing for trains and pedestrians. Crews ended up finding a way to build around it.