AECOM has announced that it will serve as the design partner on Edmonton’s Capital Line South light-rail transit (LRT) extension.

The City of Edmonton has awarded a design-build contract to U.S.-headquartered AECOM and Capital Line Design-Build, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based Ledcor, to deliver Phase 1 of the extension. The contract was awarded in June but AECOM issued a news release on its involvement more recently.

The 4.5-kilometre extension is slated to run from Century Park to north of Ellerslie Road. The project in Alberta, Canada. Phase 1 will also include the construction of two new stations and a light-rail vehicle storage and maintenance facility.

As the design lead, AECOM will be responsible for the infrastructure and systems design, which includes the new line running along the west side of 111 Street, an underpass at 23 Avenue, and bridges over Blackmud Creek and Anthony Henday Drive. The two new stations are Twin Brooks and Heritage Valley North.

Additionally, a separate contractor will supply a new fleet of light-rail vehicles for the system.

“We are thrilled to continue our close partnership with the City of Edmonton, supporting its commitment to expanding sustainable transportation options that meet increasing demand for urban mobility choices for residents, employers and visitors,” said Richard Barrett, CEO for AECOM’s Canadian business.

AECOM has a longstanding relationship with the City of Edmonton, previously providing services such as developing a policy framework to integrate light-rail transit with land-use planning and producing design guidelines for both low-floor and high-floor LRT systems. The company has also worked on the Valley Line LRT project, a 27-kilometre urban light-rail line currently under development in two phases, linking Mill Woods in the southeast to Lewis Farms in the west.

AECOM is also devising a new route for Calgary’s stalled Green Line on behalf of the provincial government. The province pulled back its $1.5-billion share of funding for the Green Line after claiming that Naheed Nenshi, the city’s former mayor, had mishandled the project while he was in office.

Nenshi now leads the Alberta NDP, which is the Official Opposition party. Many commercial real estate projects are caught in the political crossfire as a dispute between the city, province and Nenshi continues.

Calgary city council has voted to wind down the $6.5-billion project and called on the province to take it over. But Premier Danielle Smith has balked at that idea.

Rendering: City of Edmonton