Ontario starting process to hire contractor for Hamilton LRT construction work

It's still not clear when Hamilton will have light rail transit (LRT), but according to Ontario's transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, we are "one step closer" to seeing shovels in the ground.

Speaking outside Hamilton City Hall on Wednesday, Sarkaria announced that the province has issued a request for qualifications, which is a process in which contractors effectively pre-apply to submit proposals for work. In this case, the work includes relocating utilities, roads, sidewalks and traffic control signals along the 14-kilometre LRT route. 

The minister was flanked by Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath and Filomena Tassi, the federal minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and member of parliament for Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas. Daniel Tisch, who leads the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, and Phil Verster, the CEO of provincial transit agency Metrolinx, were there too.

No timeline for completion

"LRT is on track," Horwath said. 

However, Sarkaria did not say when there will be a track Hamiltonians can ride on.

He said the province would examine contractors who apply "over the next couple of months," and that the government would "continue to update as that process moves through."

It's also unclear who will operate the LRT.

After much debate early this year, Hamilton city council decided to recommend the coming line be operated by a third party for the first 10 years of its life, before being taken over by the municipality. That was contrary to the wishes of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents city bus drivers. 

Verster said Metrolinx has not made that decision and has "ample time to discuss it in the years to come."

The province says the LRT will have 17 stops, running from McMaster University in the city's west to Eastgate Square in the east. It is expected to draw 50,000 daily commuters. 

The $3.4-billion project is part of a number of transit projects the province has promised, including the eventual establishment of faster, all-day GO Transit.

Sarkaria said work in Hamilton will involve improving connections between existing transit and local GO stations, but did not offer specifics.

"As we build more transit across the province, our goal is to make it more accessible and frequent in Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area as well," he said.

Horwath said it will be important to ensure the LRT fits into the rest of Hamilton's transit system.

"The demand for public transit, I'm happy to say, is growing along with the population," she said. "[LRT] is going to enable significant expansion of the transit system overall in our city."