The city of Ottawa has launched a $2.2bn (C$3bn) tender for the extension of its Trillium Line, one of three large-scale transit projects planned over the next seven years.
At present the light rail system is a short, eight-stop system running north to south through the centre of the Canadian capital.
The second stage will add the Confederation Line as an east-west crossbar running along the banks of the Ottawa River, and also extend the existing line to the south.
Altogether stage will add 36km of rail serving 22 stations. When work is complete in 2023, the entire O-Train system will span nearly 50km and include 39 stations.
The planned extensions of the LRT system up to 2023
The contract will be let as two public-private partnership contracts, and the winning consortiums will finance, design, build and maintain the completed asset. The cost of building the Confederation Line will be $1.9bn and the southern extension of the Trillium line will cost $400m.
Ottowa’s transportation masterplan has been in the works since November 2013, and sets out the city’s future up until 2031, by which time the city’s population is projected to grow from 880,000 to 1.1 million.
The deadline for submitting proposals is 6 June, and work is scheduled to begin next year.
Top image: An O-Train crossing the Rideau River at Carleton University (dwmccorm)
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