With most of the design and property acquisition completed and construction scheduled to start this March, a $673-million, 29.4-kilometer north-south extension of Ottawa's light rail system has been abandoned.
Last summer, the city approved a design-build and 15-year maintenance award with Ottawa LRT Corp., a private consortium consisting of Siemens Canada, Dufferin Construction Company, PCL Constructors Canada Inc., Stantec Consulting Ltd. and Stantec Architecture Ltd. It was to be financed by the city with a $172-million contribution from both the federal and Ontario governments. Newly elected mayor Larry O'Brien was critical of the project, as were downtown merchants worried the entirely at-grade line would be too disruptive.