Councillors vote in favour of Valley Line LRT plan to keep train at street level at busy west Edmonton intersection

Edmonton city councillors voted in favour of a plan Friday night to that will see the Valley LRT Line built with at-grade tracks at 149 Street and Stony Plain Road.

The cost for the western leg of the Valley Line is now estimated to be about $2 billion and the city said the project could be ready for procurement by the end of the year.

The plan voted on Friday night does not include an underpass at 149 Street despite previous recommendations for that by city planners. The underpass would have cost $160 million.

The plan approved by councillors, however, will see the LRT tracks be elevated over 87 Avenue from 170 Street to past 178 Street.

Not everyone voted in favour of the plan. Councillor Jon Dziadyk said he felt he couldn’t support the motion because lessons had not been learned from Phase 1 of the project.

Councillor Mike Nickel also voted against the plan.

At a public hearing about the west LRT extension plan on Wednesday, dozens of Edmontonians spoke out.

Peter Doell, with the West Jasper/Sherwood Community League, said the people and businesses he represents wanted the intersection to stay as it is, with trains going through at street level. They believed the underpass would eliminate some turn options off 149 Street and that nearby neighbourhoods would bear the brunt of traffic cutting through.

READ MORE: New motion suggests keeping LRT at street level at busy west Edmonton intersection

Watch below: On March 21, 2018, Vinesh Pratap filed this report about criticism coming in quickly on Wednesday for Edmonton’s West LRT plan.

Some area businesses also worried that building an underpass would have meant several of them would have to move.

More to come…

-With files from Caley Ramsay and Vinesh Pratap