Procurement process for Hamilton LRT will start as early as this month
'If I could hit a reset button, I would,' says Coun. Terry Whitehead
Metrolinx will put out a call in the next month or so for companies willing to build Hamilton's light rail transit (LRT) project.
The provincial agency, which is working with the city, is working on "pre-tender" criteria right now, said Paul Johnson, the city's LRT project head. And Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario (IO) will issue the request for qualifications (RFQ) "very soon."
That will create a short list of companies willing to build the $1 billion system, Johnson said. It will likely be a construction consortium, similar to the one that built Tim Hortons Field stadium.
Metrolinx and IO will review the candidates, then invite short-listed ones to submit a request for proposals (RFP) in early summer. City council will cast a vote on it, but Metrolinx is the lead agency on the project.
Picking a builder will be the first concrete hurdle in a project that has stretched on for years. And while people who want LRT will rejoice, Coun. Terry Whitehead of Ward 8 says he doesn't have a lot of faith in Metrolinx.
This year, Ontario's auditor general said Metrolinx is failing to take action against contractors for delays and poor-quality work in its billions of dollars worth of transit expansion projects in the GTA. In one case, the auditor found, Metrolinx terminated one construction contract over poor performance, then rehired the same contractor for another job.
The auditor general also found Ontario spent $8 billion more than necessary on public-private partnerships — the same model that will be used for Hamilton's system.
Whitehead is skeptical about LRT anyway. "If I could hit a reset button, I would," he said.
But "we are where we are. I want to make sure we're not being snowed. I want to make sure there's no bias with Metrolinx."
Metrolinx and the city are also holding three public information sessions this month to show people their updated environmental assessment. The city first approved the assessment in 2011. The public gave input into it during public meetings in September.
The new version has some changes. Most notably, there's a Gage Park stop now, upping the number of stops from 13 to 14. That'll cost about $5 million, Johnson said, but won't tip the project over its $1 billion budget.
The new version doesn't include a stop at Bay Street, which Hamilton Chamber of Commerce wants.
Other changes include:
- The platform at McMaster University will be on the side of the street, not the centre. People thought it would be safer for pedestrians that way, Johnson said.
- More pedestrian crossings.
As for the project as a whole, it's hard to know what 2017 will bring.
Council has voted numerous times over the years to ask the province to pay the full capital cost of LRT. In 2015, the province agreed, and the city and Metrolinx set up a joint office.
Still, the project inspires hours of debate. One councillor, Chad Collins, is against the project and was poised to push for a referendum. Last year, a municipal lawyer advised that two-thirds of council would have to agree to reopen the issue. And not enough are willing to do that.
This year, council will vote on the RFP process. It will also vote on the updated environmental assessment on March 1.
Johnson said the team will forge ahead until council tells it to stop.
"These are elements of the project," he said. "Council can at any time change this project or cancel this project."
Until then, "we'll try to bring forward the best possible piece of work."
The public information sessions are as follows:
- Monday, Jan. 16, 4 to 8 p.m., Dr. John M. Perkins Centre atrium, 1429 Main Street E.
- Tuesday, Jan. 17, 4 to 8 p.m., David Braley Health Sciences Centre, 2nd floor auditorium, 100 Main St. W.
- Wednesday, Jan. 18, 4 to 8 p.m., McMaster Innovation Park, atrium, 175 Longwood Rd. S.
The city is also holding "community update meetings" with a question-and-answer format in Dundas, Stoney Creek and Hamilton Mountain after residents said they wanted that.
Those meetings are as follows:
- Wednesday, Jan. 11, 7 to 9 p.m., Sackville Seniors Centre, Fireside Lodge, 780 Upper Wentworth St.
- Tuesday, Jan. 24, 7 to 9 p.m., Dundas Town Hall, level 2 auditorium, 60 Main St., Dundas.
- Thursday, Jan. 26, 7 to 9 p.m., Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School, lecture hall, 127 Gray Rd., Stoney Creek.
Council will also vote on a binding master agreement with Metrolinx this year, Johnson said.