The Ontario government has officially issued a Request for Proposals for the first phase of work on Hamilton’s planned Light Rail Transit (LRT) line.
The Request for Proposals follows a Request for Qualifications that was issued this past fall.
Four teams have been invited to submit proposals for the first phase of work, which includes utility relocations, roads, structures, grade separations, bridges, sidewalks, and traffic control signals along the 14-kilometre LRT route.
The first phase, known as Package 1 (Civil Works and Utilities), represents approximately half of the project construction value.
Those four teams are the Hamilton Synergy Alliance (Applicant Lead: AtkinsRéalis Major Projects Inc.), Steel City Alliance (Applicant Lead: Dufferin Construction Company), Kenaidan Murphy Joint Venture (Applicant Lead: Murphy Infrastructure), and Aecon Hamilton Transit LRT Partnership (Applicant Lead: Aecon Infrastructure Management).
The four teams were chosen for their company experience and financial capacity and will now be able to submit official proposals.
Once a partner has been chosen, detailed designs, a construction schedule, and costs will be prepared.
The Government of Ontario says that the Request for Proposals “marks another milestone in the province’s plan to protect Ontario by building transit, reducing gridlock, and creating thousands of good-paying jobs in one of Ontario’s fastest-growing cities.”
Ontario’s Minister of Transportation, Prabmeet Sarkaria, adds, “We’re one step closer to getting shovels in the ground on this critical transit project that will connect thousands of residents in Hamilton to good jobs and housing, while protecting Ontario workers in the face of President Trump’s unfair tariffs.”
Interim President and CEO of Metrolinx, Michael Lindsay, notes that progress is already underway on other crucial work related to the LRT.
“Progress is being made on advanced early works projects, with five of those projects now completed and four more underway,” said Lindsay.
Those early works include early strategic location of some off-corridor utilities, due diligence work, property acquisition and demolition activities, and design refinement.
After the first phase, the second phase, known as Package 2 (Stops, Rail, Systems), will take place.
The second phase includes the construction of the guideway, rail, systems, operations and maintenance storage facility (OMSF), and integration of light rail vehicles.
The 14-kilometre LRT will have 17 stops and connect Eastgate Square Mall to McMaster University.
The LRT will connect users to Downtown Hamilton, City Hall, the Hamilton Arena (formerly the FirstOntario Centre), and the Hamilton Stadium (formerly Tim Horton’s Field).
It should be noted that the LRT does not directly link to any of Hamilton’s GO stations, with transit users required to walk or transfer to an HSR bus to get to either Hamilton GO, West Harbour GO, or Confederation GO.
The $3.4-billion Hamilton LRT has both provincial and federal support, with each level of government committing $1.7 billion to the project in May 2021.
However, there have been concerns that construction costs for the project could end up being much higher.
For example, a plan to extend the Kitchener LRT an extra 17.5 km to Cambridge was estimated to cost $1.5 billion in 2021 but is now estimated at $4.5 billion.
The City of Hamilton will be responsible for operating costs once the LRT opens, and there are also concerns that those costs could be much higher than expected.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
