New Green Line LRT alignment revealed at same $6.2B price tag

After uncertainty surrounded the fate of the project for several months, the province's revised alignment of the Green Line LRT has been revealed, including a plan for an elevated section through Calgary's downtown core. 

Hired in July, infrastructure consulting firm AECOM designed the new alignment, which is just over 17 kilometres in length and now has 12 stations instead of the previous plan's seven.

The new plan was released by the province Friday morning. 

This iteration of the Green Line will feature no tunneling through Calgary's downtown, which was a major point of criticism from the province in the project's last alignment.

The revised plan has the LRT running through the core along 10th Avenue on elevated tracks, and then curving north to connect with the Blue Line and Red Line in the downtown core along Seventh Avenue.

According to the province, this adjustment will result in over $1 billion in savings, which is why the new iteration would will be able to extend as far south as Shepard. The previous plan's most southern station was Lynnwood/Millican. 

The overall cost remains at $6.2 billion.

"This new Green Line route saves more than a billion dollars in tunnelling costs. This alignment adds five more stops, will be 76 per cent longer and will serve 60 per cent more Calgarians — all within the same budget," reads a statement from Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen, sent Friday morning.

"The ball is now in Calgary City Council's court to approve this alignment and to finally start construction on the Green Line in the new year." 

All of this comes after a turbulent saga that saw the Alberta government and the City of Calgary squabbling over the future of the project, which was originally stirred up by the province's decision to withdraw its portion of funding for the Green Line back in September.

In an interview with CBC News on Friday morning, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she and council have yet to review AECOM's complete report about the new Green Line plan.

"We've been given no time to even look at what's being proposed, but the provincial government has already put it out in the media," said Gondek. 

"So this puts us in a very difficult situation ... we don't even have the information we need to make an informed decision as a partner, but it has been leaked to the public."

Gondek said there was a group meeting early Friday morning between city elected officials, city administration and members of the provincial government where AECOM shared its findings, but the city still lacks an understanding of who carries the financial risk for the project.