Consortium plans legal challenge over delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT, Mississauga portion unaffected

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Published May 16, 2023 at 11:58 am

Ontario’s transit agency says the consortium building a delayed midtown Toronto light rail transit line intends to launch a legal challenge over the project.

Metrolinx, the provincial agency, says it was informed late last night by Crosslinx Transit Solutions that the consortium intends to litigate over the Eglinton Crosstown LRT project and stop working with the Toronto Transit Commission.

In a statement this morning, Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster called it an “unacceptable delay tactic, alleging the consortium was “looking for new ways to make financial claims.”

Verster said last month the project, under construction since 2011, was plagued by 260 quality issues and had no projected opening date.

He says Crosslinx is responsible for delay costs and Metrolinx is already withholding “significant payments for poor performance.”

Crosslinx and the TTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last month, Metrolinx told insauga.com that construction of a major LRT line in east Mississauga will not be impacted by ongoing delays and other significant issues plaguing the Toronto project. 

“While the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will connect seamlessly with (the Eglinton Crosstown LRT) when it’s in operation, it is a completely separate project,” a Metrolinx spokesperson told insauga.com on April 28. 

When completed, the 9.2-kilometre ECWE will bring the Eglinton Crosstown LRT from Toronto to Renforth Dr. in east Mississauga. It is set for completion in 2030-31 and will deliver some 37,000 daily rides to passengers.

A proposal to extend the ECWE an additional 4.7 kilometres from Renforth Dr. to Pearson Airport in Mississauga is also being strongly considered.

“The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension is being delivered under separate contracts, the first of which was awarded to West End Connectors Construction for advance tunnel work, which is well underway and progressing according to schedule,” the spokesperson said.

“The tunnel boring machines have already passed the halfway point of their journey, and headwall construction at future station and emergency exit building locations are also progressing.”

The Canadian Press

  • With files from insauga.com

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