The Eglinton Crosstown LRT is facing another delay and it’s unclear when the transit system will be operational.
Crews have been tearing up a platform at one of the stations under construction after it was discovered that a section of concrete was uneven.
“Crews are currently working to repair an uneven layer of concrete (at) the Sloane Stop on Eglinton Avenue East,” stated a notice on the Metrolinx website. “This work requires chipping of the platform and placing new concrete.”
The work will take about a month to complete.
During an announcement at the TTC Davisville Carhouse today (April 27), where Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said the province has issued a request for qualifications for the advance tunnel contract on the Yonge North Subway Extension, she was asked several questions about the Eglinton Crosstown project.
她和菲尔自己Metroli的总裁兼首席执行官nx, faced some tough questions about transparency surrounding the work on the massive build. The transit system is already several years behind schedule and billions over budget.
When asked about a completion date, Mulroney said, “I would love to be able to provide a date but that is contingent upon CTS (Crosslinx Transit Solutions) delivering a credible schedule to Metrolinx and as of yet CTS has not been able to do that, but I understand that conversations are going well.
“We’ve seen in Ottawa what happens when politicians push subway systems or transit systems to open before they are ready. We don’t want that to happen here.”
Verster also chimed in on the matter.
“We are using every lever and every remedy in our P3 contracts to get our contractor CTS to deliver on time, but the key thing is that the quality must be right, and a safe transit system must be delivered,” said Verster. “Metrolinx is not a construction company, but we have multibillion-dollar private sector companies that have the resources, the subcontractors, the people and the schedule and the means to deliver this.”
He provided a few examples of his concerns.
“We have clearly, for a very long time, challenged the forecast from CTS to complete in the second half of 2023,” said Verster. “Practical examples are the following: there are 260 non-conformances, quality issues that must be rectified and please understand those quality issues get rectified at CTS’s expense. Similarly, the cost of delay of the project is at CTS’s expense. We’re withholding substantial payments against the completion of the project.”
But the biggest quality issue CTS is dealing with now is track work was completed in 2021 and it does not meet specifications, said Verster.
“It needs to be rectified. Despite our urging and our guidance it’s only being rectified now and it will have a two-month impact at least on the completion date,” he said. “What is crucial in terms of the testing and commissioning of the program, which is where CTS then actually demonstrated everything that’s been constructed and put in place is actually working together, has for several months fallen well short of CTS’s own targets of delivery. We have pushed CTS to rethink their schedule and to restructure their resources and the work that’s being done on the testing and commissioning.”
Verster noted site testing is only about 50 per cent of what Metrolinx expected it to be.
Once the testing and commissioning is completed, CTS’s engineers must certify the documentation that the work has been done to the specifications that Metrolinx has put forward and to the quality that is required, Verster explained.
“That is about 20 per cent completed at this stage despite our guidance on what needs to be done at this point in time,” he said. “For sure we are spending an inordinate amount actively managing and guiding CTS in their delivery and yes we want this project completed, but I’ve got to say my biggest concern is that the quality is right and that we get a safe transit system…We’ve got to get it right.”
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