Valley Line (Edmonton)

The Valley Line is a future 27 km (17 mi), low-floor urban light rail line in Edmonton, Alberta, currently under construction.[4][5][6] 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 station. Construction began on April 22, 2016, with completion of phase 1 set for 2021.[7][8][9] Upon completion of the entire line, the Valley Line is expected to serve more than 100,000 commuters daily,[10] nearly matching the current Capital Line and Metro Line in terms of capacity and ridership.

Valley Line
The Churchill connector, which connects the Valley Line and future above-ground lines to Churchill station, under construction
Overview
Locale	Edmonton
Termini	102 Street Mill Woods
Stations	12 (Phase 1) 16 (Phase 2)[1] 28 (Total)
Service
Type	Light rail
Operator(s)	Edmonton Transit Service
Depot(s)	Gerry Wright Operations and Maintenance Facility[2]
History
Planned opening	2021 (phase 1) 2025-2026 (phase 2)[1]
Technical
Line length	13.1 km (8.1 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	80 kilometres per hour (50 mph) maximum[3]
Route map

Valley Line
Phase 2 (2026) Phase 2 (2026) Lewis Farms Hwy 216 ( Anthony Henday Drive west ) Aldergrove/Belmead (182 Street) West Edmonton Mall Misericordia Meadowlark Glenwood/Sherwood (95 Avenue) Jasper Place (156 Street) Stony Plain Road/149 Street Grovenor/142 Street Glenora Groat Road 124 Street Brewery/120 Street The Yards/116 Street MacEwan Arts/112 Street NorQuest (107 Street) Alex Decoteau (106/105 Street) 102 Street Churchill Metro Line 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

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 Line 5 Eglinton line.[11]

Valley Line Southeast (Downtown to Mill Woods)

Planning studies for an LRT route from downtown to Mill Woods began in early 2009.[12] 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,[13] which is being 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 intersection north of Bonnie Doon Mall and shifting to 83 Street, continuing south and east. Just north of Argyll Road, the line is lifted onto an elevated guideway over Davies Industrial. Finally, the line will proceed south along 75/66 Street until it reaches Mill Woods Town Centre. Within this line the proposed stops are: Quarters, Muttart, Strathearn, Holyrood, Bonnie Doon, Avonmore, Davies (to include a bus terminal and park & ride),[14] 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.[15]

On June 1, 2011, Edmonton City Council approved $39 million in funding to proceed with preliminary engineering for the Valley Line.[12] 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.[16] 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.[17]

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.[18] 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.[19] On March 11, 2014, it was announced that the project would be completely funded[20][21] with an additional $150 million from the federal government and $365 million from the provincial government.[22][23]

Land procurement began in 2011[24] and utility relocation began in 2013,[25][26][27][28] completion of the first stage is expected in 2020.[29][30] The official groundbreaking of the new LRT Valley Line occurred on April 22, 2016.[31][32]

As of September 2019, this segment of the line is a year behind schedule of its projected December 2020 opening date. The 2019 construction season posed a challenge to crews due to frequent rain.[33]

In December 2019, completion of the line was pushed back until 2021 after TransEd found a car-sized piece of concrete underneath the North berm of the Tawatinâ bridge.[34]

Valley Line West (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 has the west LRT extension run from downtown along 104 Avenue and Stony Plain Road to 156 Street, then south on 156 Street to Meadowlark Health And Shopping Centre, and then west along 87 Avenue to West Edmonton Mall and beyond. Proponents of this route cited opportunities for transit-oriented development.[35][36]

In 2016, the Valley Line West received funding through the Government of Canada’s Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF) to review the preliminary design that was completed in 2013. The funding covers work to determine the most appropriate project delivery method (P3, for example) and to develop a business case for construction funding.

The Government of Canada is providing approximately $948 million for the Valley Line West expansion, and the Government of Alberta has committed approximately $1.04 billion for the project.[37] The expansion is projected to cost approximately $2.67 billion in total.[38] Edmonton has selected Marigold Infrastructure Partners to build the western section of the Valley Line.[39] Preparation work, such as the relocation of underground utilities and clearing of land along the route, has already begun.[39] Construction of the expansion is scheduled to commence in 2021, and it is expected to open in 2026 or 2027.[39]

Stations

Valley Line Southeast (under construction)

Stop	Grade-level	Transfer	Area	Scheduled opening	Location[40]
102 Street stop	Surface		Downtown	2021	53°32′35″N 113°29′41″W
Churchill station	Surface	Capital Line Metro Line	Downtown	2021	53°32′36″N 113°29′23″W
Quarters stop	Surface		Downtown	2021	53°32′40″N 113°29′1″W
Muttart stop	Surface		Southeast	2021	53°32′11″N 113°28′46″W
Strathearn stop	Surface		Southeast	2021	53°31′54″N 113°27′46″W
Holyrood stop	Surface		Southeast	2021	53°31′40″N 113°27′27″W
Bonnie Doon stop	Surface		Southeast	2021	53°31′10″N 113°27′20″W
Avonmore stop	Surface		Southeast	2021	53°30′34″N 113°27′18″W
Davies station	Elevated		Southeast	2021	53°30′0″N 113°26′39″W
Millbourne/Woodvale stop	Surface		Southeast	2021	53°28′30″N 113°26′20″W
Grey Nuns stop	Surface		Southeast	2021	53°27′46″N 113°26′4″W
Mill Woods station	Surface		Southeast	2021	53°27′30″N 113°25′50″W

Valley Line West (under procurement)

Stop[40] Grade-level Area Location Lewis Farms Surface West 53°31′22″N 113°39′51″W Aldergrove/Belmead Surface West 53°31′17″N 113°38′18″W West Edmonton Mall Elevated West 53°31′14″N 113°37′22″W Misericordia Elevated West 53°31′11″N 113°36′42″W Meadowlark Surface West 53°31′18″N 113°35′42″W Glenwood/Sherwood Surface West 53°31′54″N 113°35′25″W Jasper Place Surface West 53°32′27″N 113°35′22″W Stony Plain Road/149 St. Surface West 53°32′29″N 113°34′50″W Grovenor/142 St. Surface West 53°32′35″N 113°33′53″W Glenora Surface West 53°32′46″N 113°33′5″W 124 Street Surface Downtown 53°32′49″N 113°32′9″W Brewery/120 St. Surface Downtown 53°32′46″N 113°31′42″W The Yards/116 St. Surface Downtown 53°32′46″N 113°31′18″W MacEwan Arts/112 St. Surface Downtown 53°32′46″N 113°30′49″W NorQuest Surface Downtown 53°32′43″N 113°30′17″W Alex Decoteau Surface Downtown 53°32′35″N 113°30′7″W

References

1. "Valley Line - West". Edmonton.ca. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
2. https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/documents/PDF/GerryWrightOfficialPkg.pdf
3. "FLEXITY Freedom". Bombardier Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
4. Elise Stolte (November 25, 2015). "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.
5. "Bechtel Team Awarded Edmonton Valley Line Light Rail Project in Canada". Railly News. February 12, 2016. The multi-phased, 27-kilometre 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.
6. "Project History". Edmonton. City of Edmonton. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 9, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. "Valley Line (SE to West LRT): Mill Woods to Lewis Farms". Edmonton Transit System. 2015. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
9. "Valley Line LRT Animation". City of Edmonton. December 3, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
10. http://www.ellisdon.com/project/edmonton-valley-line-lrt-stage-1/
11. "Bombardier Wins Order to Supply Light Rail Transit System for City of Edmonton's Valley Line in Canada". Bombardier Transportation. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
12. "Southeast LRT Project History". City of Edmonton. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
13. "Southeast LRT (Valley Line) Names Approved". City of Edmonton Naming Committee. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
14. "Southeast to West LRT - Approved Concept Plan Amendment" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
15. "Operations and Maintenance Facility" (PDF). City of Edmonton. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
16. "City fast-tracks LRT expansion with push for $800 million". Edmonton Journal. Postmedia Network. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
17. 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.
18. "Southeast to West LRT: Mill Woods to Lewis Farms". City of Edmonton. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
19. 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.
20. Tumilty, Ryan (March 11, 2014). "Southeast LRT funding includes $200 million interest-free provincial loan". Metro News. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
21. 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 April 18, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
22. Simons, Paula (May 26, 2014). "Cash for Valley Line is fine, but transit funding must be consistent". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on June 20, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
23. 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.
24. "SIRE Public Access". sirepub.edmonton.ca. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
25. Edmonton, City of (June 2, 2016). "Project History :: City of Edmonton". www.edmonton.ca. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
26. "Fact Sheet; Valley Line (SE to WEST LRT); May 2014" (PDF). City of Edmonton. May 30, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
27. "Connors Road Construction". EPCOR. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
28. "2014 Construction on your streets". City of Edmonton. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
29. "City of Edmonton Valley Line Stage 1 – Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project Environmental Impact Screening Assessment Update" (PDF). Edmonton. City of Edmonton. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
30. "Valley Line (SE to West LRT)" (PDF). City of Edmonton. September 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
31. Bartko, Karen (April 12, 2016). "Valley Line LRT construction to start April 22, says new website". Corus Entertainment Inc. Global News Edmonton. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
32. "Valley Line (SE to West LRT): Mill Woods to Lewis Farms". Edmonton. City of Edmonton. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
33. Dyer, Kelsey (September 6, 2019). "'Get it finished': Valley Line LRT project facing delays". Edmonton. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
34. December 11, Jeff Labine Updated; 2019 (December 11, 2019). "Concrete mass in river delaying Valley Line southeast LRT | Edmonton Journal". Retrieved December 13, 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
35. Kent, Gordon (September 3, 2009). "Edmonton unveils west and south LRT plans". Archived from the original on November 7, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
36. "City Proposes Southeast and West LRT Routes". September 3, 2009. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
37. Edmonton, City of (September 30, 2020). "Valley Line". www.edmonton.ca. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
38. "Valley Line West LRT expansion lives on after call from councillor to rescind approved funding". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
39. "City of Edmonton selects Marigold Infrastructure Partners for Valley Line West LRT project".
40. "Valley Line LRT Maps". City of Edmonton. Retrieved July 9, 2017.

External links

• Valley Line City of Edmonton
• Valley Line LRT on YouTube published by the City of Edmonton. An animated tour of the proposed Valley Line
• Valley Line West LRT on YouTube published by the City of Edmonton. An animated tour of the proposed Valley Line West LRT extension