I'll just park this here.......
Ratings agency S&P Global has placed the private partner in the Hurontario light rail transit P3 project on a negative credit watch amid concerns over delays to the scheme.
www.partnershipsbulletin.com
The headline of the above:
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The piece is paywalled and a trade, so I won't bring anymore forward from that..........but the substance is available elsewhere........
From the above:
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@drum118 @crs1026 @smallspy
Thanks to someone unnamed for the tip off.
This comes as no surprised to me based on what I have seen first hand as well in the over 7,000 shots of the corridor.
I have been saying over 18 months that this was a make work project to do a show and tell.
One of the big delay to this project is the designer who lives and work in the London UK and not sure where the detailing work is been done, but work starts when the detail drawings were at 80% and when the 100% detail drawing show up, time to rip out and redo various section. Topflight wye track area is a good example that it was close to 5 months pass its completion date. A few surprised did show up and took time to figure it out who was reasonable for it as well did it need to be rebuilt elsewhere.
I have no idea why the delay for switches. The topflight crossover is mostly in place along with the tracks for it, but this been on going since March. The crossover at Waltline was torn out well over a year ago with a new based poured for it late last year with tracks showing up months ago and still incomplete
As for rail, it been stock piled at the old Cooksville lot as well up at the Hwy 407 bus terminal area well over a year and the standard T rail found all over the place. I expect the rail being an issue is due to Alstom LRV that are the same ones as Ottawa and Finch.
At the very start of the construction as well in 2023, Mobilinx has stated public that the wye connection for the Burnhamthorpe intersection would be built so there was no delay when the loop was in the picture.
Whisper started to be heard along the corridor that the wye connection for Burnhamthorpe would not built as plan and be replace with straight tracks only which was nuts. Nuts and other words were heard abought going to straight track.
The city became very concerned about the change when they were informed of the change as it was going to cause major issues down the road when that intersection has to be torn up and rebuilt. The only thing that can be save is the northbound track that will have to be saw cut on either of the intersection where the switch has to go in. You maybe able to save some of the southbound, mainly in the centre of the intersection, but better off removing it and the concrete for the tracks that need to connect to the northbound track.
If this line opens before the wye is built which will be around 2027 at this time, the city will have no spare buses to replace the LRV's as they are max out for space now and still talking about the long over due 3rd garage that will cost $500 million.
The province has stated the loop is a go at an extra cost as well the Brampton extension, but no one has heard about the funding of the 2 extension nor up dating the EA for the loop as it no larger. In May, whisper were been heard along the corridor that the wye would not be built and going a head with straight. Burnhamthorpe Intersection was to see work from July 11 to Sept 19, but the south section only saw the concrete base poured on Thursday with a top coat being pour either Friday or Sat. Need 3 more days to strip the area, backfill the gap and then pave the gap and a lane that should be done by Wednesday. This makes the delay almost 3 weeks late and common for almost every intersection done to date. Some intersections were a few days late, but mostly a week or 2.
As I stated time after time, opening date was September 2024, then the end of 2024 and don't expect to see it in service come December 2026, depending on a number of things.
With the decision to to go to straight track, I expect the Steele station will be built on the southside as plan, not the northside where it should be for the extension so extra money can be gain to cover the huge lost Mobilinx is taking at this point.
There is not one section of the corridor that is 100% complete.
One complaint heard along the corridor is the lack of permits. The city has setup a special process to speed the permits up as long as the paper work is correct when the permit is been requested.
Beginning in January of 2025, a notice was sent out saying the guideway would be built by the end of 2024 from Eglinton to South Service Rd, yet here we are in October with the guideway built 80% from Square One Drive To Central Pkwy and between Kingsbridge an Eglinton. The elevated section and the bridge over the 403 is at 40-50% at best.
