Valley Line (Edmonton)

Valley Line

Lewis Farms
Hwy 216 (Anthony Henday Drive west)

182 Street
West Edmonton Mall
Misericordia

Meadowlark
95 Avenue
156 Street
149 Street
142 Street
Glenora
Groat Road
124 Street
120 Street
116 Street
112 Street
107 Street
106/105 Street
Phase 2
Phase 1
102 Street
Churchill
 Capital Line 
Quarters
Tawatinâ Bridge over
North Saskatchewan River
Muttart
Strathearn
Holyrood
Bonnie Doon
Avonmore

Mill Creek
Davies

Gerry Wright Operations
and Maintenance Facility
Hwy 14 (Whitemud Drive)
Millbourne/Woodvale
Grey Nuns
Mill Woods

The Valley Line is a future 27 km (17 mi), low-floor urban line in Edmonton, Alberta currently in the build phase.[1][2][3] It will be part of the Edmonton LRT. It will run southeast to west from Mill Woods to Lewis Farms, crossing through downtown. The line will be constructed in phases, with phase 1 being the 13.1 km (8.1 mi), 12-station portion between Mill Woods and 102 Street (Downtown) allowing passengers to connect with the Capital Line and Metro Line at Churchill. Construction began on April 22, 2016 with completion in 2020.[4][5][6]

Unlike the other trains in the system, the Valley line will operate low-floor Bombardier Flexity Freedom trains, which were first designed for Toronto's Eglinton Crosstown line.[7]

Mill Woods to Downtown

Planning studies for an LRT route from downtown to Mill Woods began in early 2009.[8] In December 2009, Edmonton city council approved a new low-floor train route that would leave a new ground-level station at Churchill Square on 102 Avenue between 100 and 99 Streets before stopping in The Quarters redevelopment on 102 Avenue between 97 Street and 96 Street. From here the route enters a tunnel and travels beneath 95 Street descending into the river valley to cross the North Saskatchewan River on the new Tawatinâ Bridge,[9] which will be constructed east of Louise McKinney Park. The route then proceeds to climb the hill adjacent to Connors Road then proceed east along 95 Avenue and southbound at 85 Street. The route will travel southbound along 85 Street crossing the traffic circle and shifting to 83 Street, continuing south and east towards Wagner Road. Finally the line will proceed south along 75/66 Street until it reaches Mill Woods Town Centre. Within this line the proposed stations are: Quarters, Muttart, Strathearn, Holyrood, Bonnie Doon, Avonmore, Davies (to include a bus terminal and park & ride),[10] Millbourne/Woodvale, Grey Nuns, and Mill Woods Town Centre. The maintenance and storage of vehicles for the line will be at the new Gerry Wright Operations and Maintenance Facility, at Whitemud Drive and 75 Street.[11]

On June 1, 2011, Edmonton City Council approved $39 million in funding to proceed with preliminary engineering for the Valley Line.[8] In November 2011 City Council voted to allocate $800 million to the project, with the hopes of starting construction by 2014 and an expected completion date of 2018.[12] A funding plan was approved in October 2012 in which the city would contribute $800 million into the project with the remaining $1 billion coming from the provincial and federal governments.[13]

On February 15, 2012, city council approved the Downtown LRT concept plan. The Downtown LRT Project became part of the Southeast to West LRT project.[14] The city hoped to have money in place by the end of 2013 for the $1.8-billion LRT line from downtown to Mill Woods to start construction in 2016. City council committed $800 million, the federal government invested $250 million, and $235 million would come from the provincial government, leaving a $515 million funding gap delaying the project.[15] On March 11, 2014, it was announced that the project would be completely funded[16][17] with an additional $150 million from the federal government and $365 million from the provincial government.[18][19]

Land procurement began in 2011[20] and utility relocation began in 2013,[21][22][23][24] completion of the first stage is expected in 2020.[25][26] The official groundbreaking of the new LRT Valley Line occurred on 22 April 2016.[27][28]

Downtown to Lewis Farms

A planned expansion to Lewis Farms, with the West Edmonton Mall en route, is in the engineering phase as part of the 27-kilometre Valley Line.

The option approved by Council in 2010 was to have the west LRT extension run from downtown, along 104 Avenue and Stony Plain Road before diverting south on 156 Street towards Meadowlark Health And Shopping Centre, then along an 87 Avenue alignment to West Edmonton Mall and beyond. Proponents of this route cited opportunities for transit-oriented development.[29][30]

References

  1. Elise Stolte (2015-11-25). "Consortium, including Bombardier, to build Edmonton's $1.8-billion Valley Line LRT". Edmonton Journal. The $1.8-billion line will be built and run by TransEd Partners, a partnership that includes well-known names Bombardier and EllisDon.
  2. "Bechtel Team Awarded Edmonton Valley Line Light Rail Project in Canada". Railly News. 2016-02-12. The multi-phased, 27-kilometer urban route will ultimately create 25 new stops and 3 stations for an estimated 100,000 daily commuters. The line will run southeast to west from Mill Woods to Lewis Farms, crossing through Edmonton’s downtown core. The first phase of the Valley Line is the 13.1-km portion with 11 stops and one two-storey station, which will run between Mill Woods and 102 Street, connecting commuters with the Capital Line and Metro Line at Churchill Station. Construction is due to start later this year.
  3. "Project History". Edmonton. City of Edmonton. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  4. http://www.edmonton.ca/ets/transit_projects/southeast-to-west-lrt-mill-woods-to-lewis-farms.aspx
  5. "Valley Line (SE to West LRT): Mill Woods to Lewis Farms". Edmonton Transit System. 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  6. "Valley Line LRT Animation". City of Edmonton. 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  7. "Bombardier Wins Order to Supply Light Rail Transit System for City of Edmonton's Valley Line in Canada". Bombardier Transportation. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Southeast LRT Project History". City of Edmonton. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  9. "Southeast LRT (Valley Line) Names Approved". City of Edmonton Naming Committee. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  10. "Southeast to West LRT - Approved Concept Plan Amendment" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  11. "Operations and Maintenance Facility" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  12. "City fast-tracks LRT expansion with push for $800 million". Edmonton Journal. Postmedia Network. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  13. Kent, Gordon (October 17, 2012). "Council approves P3 funding plan for southeast LRT line". Edmonton Journal. Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  14. "Southeast to West LRT: Mill Woods to Lewis Farms". City of Edmonton. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  15. Dykstra, Matt (November 13, 2013). "Federal government projects a $3.7 billion budget surplus which could help Edmonton LRT line". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  16. Tumilty, Ryan (March 11, 2014). "Southeast LRT funding includes $200 million interest-free provincial loan". Metro News. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  17. Kent, Gordon (March 11, 2014). "Southeast LRT on track after province promises to fill $600 million funding gap (with video)". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on 2014-04-18. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  18. Simons, Paula (May 26, 2014). "Cash for Valley Line is fine, but transit funding must be consistent". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on 2014-06-20. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  19. Dykstra, Matthew (May 26, 2014). "Edmonton gets a final piece of funding for southeast portio of Valley LRT line". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  20. "SIRE Public Access". sirepub.edmonton.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  21. Edmonton, City of (2016-06-02). "Project History :: City of Edmonton". www.edmonton.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  22. "Fact Sheet; Valley Line (SE to WEST LRT); May 2014" (PDF). City of Edmonton. May 30, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  23. "Connors Road Construction". EPCOR. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  24. "2014 Construction on your streets". City of Edmonton. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  25. "City of Edmonton Valley Line Stage 1 – Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project Environmental Impact Screening Assessment Update" (PDF). Edmonton. City of Edmonton. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  26. "Valley Line (SE to West LRT)" (PDF). City of Edmonton. September 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  27. Bartko, Karen (12 April 2016). "Valley Line LRT construction to start April 22, says new website". Corus Entertainment Inc. Global News Edmonton. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  28. "Valley Line (SE to West LRT): Mill Woods to Lewis Farms". Edmonton. City of Edmonton. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  29. Kent, Gordon (September 3, 2009). "Edmonton unveils west and south LRT plans". Archived from the original on November 7, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
  30. "City Proposes Southeast and West LRT Routes". September 3, 2009. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
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