Reshaping Edmonton’s Public Transportation

The Valley Line LRT provides a clean and urban-integrated transit solution. 

With a relatively low-density population, the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada sought to implement a new vision of mass transportation that integrates accessible transit into communities, promoting urban densification and encouraging travelers to shift from relying on vehicles to other sustainable forms of transportation. The $4.4 billion Valley Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) is Edmonton’s first low-floor, street level transit line. It supplements the existing Metro and Capital Lines by extending LRT service to the southeast and west portions of the city. 

Launching Edmonton’s transit overhaul

We are the prime consultant / owner’s engineer for the preliminary design and implementation phases of the Valley Line. The Valley Line is a new 27 km low-floor LRT featuring 28 stops and stations, a new LRT Operation and Maintenance Facility (OMF), four transit centers, two park-and-ride facilities and several bridges. Its development has been divided into two phases: the southeastern portion, ending at Mill Woods (Phase One); and the western portion, ending at Lewis Farms (Phase Two). Phase One was completed in late 2023 and Phase Two is scheduled for completion in late 2028. Our team continues to provide project management services and lead the parties responsible for monitoring the ongoing design and construction of Phase Two.  

A sustainable and well-integrated solution 

The Valley Line represents Edmonton’s first step in transforming its current high-floor, largely segregated LRT network to a low-floor (street level), urban-integrated one. The project aims to convert Edmonton into a denser, more compact city — promoting transit-oriented development and building more sustainable, less invasive transit infrastructure. The low-floor Valley Line LRT requires less space than Edmonton’s high-floor lines, allowing it to integrate more seamlessly into the urban environment, ultimately reducing urban sprawl. 

Another goal of the project is to encourage citizens to shift from relying on auto transportation to a more environmentally sustainable LRT system. The resulting switch from cars to LRT is estimated to eliminate over 5,000 metric tons of greenhouse gasses per year. We developed a ‘Green Charter’ for the project based on public engagement and industry best practices that ensures that the new LRT will serve as an environmentally friendly and community-friendly transit option. 

As part of the Valley Line’s community-friendly integration, we needed to consider that Edmonton is home to one of the largest indigenous populations in Canada. We consulted with the 31 First Nations – indigenous groups native to the area – affected by the project and invited them to participate in construction monitoring to ensure any archaeological finds were handled respectfully and in accordance with their culture. Seventeen of these First Nations sent representatives to participate in the program, monitoring construction in one-week rotations.  

Introducing new methods of infrastructure design and construction 

To support the city of Edmonton’s goal of executing this project, we formed Connected Transit Partnership, which consisted of over 12 local and multinational firms specializing in all areas of infrastructure delivery. This team balanced local LRT project knowledge with international transit infrastructure expertise and innovation. We helped to mould this diverse group of interests into a coherent team to provide a consistent approach to project decisions. 

For Phase 1 of the project, the city of Edmonton chose a Public-Private Partnership (P3) delivery method, Design-Build-Finance-provide Vehicles-Operate-Maintain (DBFVOM) – a format with which the city had no prior experience. We successfully led the project team through this process, combining our innovative approaches to LRT delivery with the expertise of local specialists. Phase 2 is being delivered via Design-Build-Finance model that started during the design and construction stage of Phase 1. 

Despite the project’s magnitude and complexities, the collaborative efforts of our experienced team facilitated successful progression from planning to construction while working within existing neighborhoods. As a result of our efforts, Phase Two of the Valley Line won the 2021 Gold Award from the Canadian Council for Public Private Partnership. 

The value of rigorous planning 

The lessons learned from this experience underscore the importance of thorough planning and adaptability, contributing valuable insights for future projects. We are proud of how our team is assisting the city of Edmonton in navigating the challenges associated with this historically significant and multidisciplinary project. Our work is empowering the city to realize its goal of becoming more compact and efficient through minimally invasive transportation infrastructure.