Old landfills along Green Line LRT route to cost $90M to clean up

Cleanup costs for two former industrial landfills along the proposed Green Line LRT route are estimated at $90 million, part of a program to clear the way for the $4.6-billion infrastructure project.

Crews are expected to remove nearly 600,000 cubic metres of waste from the former sites in Highfield and the Ogden area (Shepard Industrial).

The industrial waste, believed to be made up of mostly old construction materials dating back to the 1960s, will be almost completely removed from the Highfield location. A partial clean up is planned for the old Ogden landfill, east of 24th Street S.E., near the Calgary Rugby Union fields.

It's part of a $250-million program the city has dubbed "Enabling Works." The city says it's being pro-active in doing all of the prep work needed for the Green Line before the main contracts are awarded. The work could take up to three years to complete before the actual construction of the line starts in 2020.

The work will include utility relocation, environmental remediation, land preparation and some transit improvements. 

"There's a lot of unknowns associated with the LRT alignment, so by us clearing the way, we'll minimize that work for them," said Michael Hinton with the Enabling Works program.

Worker Town 

There was early discussion that the Green Line would simply pass through the Highfield industrial area without a station, but the area has been incorporated with the planned Highfield station and the potential is huge, according to the city councillor for the area.

"[We're going to] turn it from sort of a toxic, 'don't touch' zone into a viable piece of future, transit-oriented development," said Gian-Carlo Carra, the councillor for Ward 9.

"I've always thought of it in my mind as 'worker town' or something, or some kind of interesting live-work environment," he added.

Carra says that once the land is remediated, the area can be redeveloped to accommodate commercial and possibly residential use. He says the Green Line, which will run parallel to the existing CN right of way, will also include a multi-use pathway with connections to the Bow River pathway system.

"Not only are we building a transit line, but we're doing extensive city shaping work and we're taking land that's unused and unlovable and turning it into places for future development that make a lot of sense," said Carra. 

$250 million may not be enough

The point of the so-called Enabling Works program is to minimize unexpected risks and costs for the main contractor, but Hinton says they may have to use up more of the $4.65 billion of the project's estimated cost. 

"It's not going to be less, we could use more of the $4.65 billion if we feel that we can minimize those risks and be a benefit to the main contractor and ourselves," said Hinton.

Hoping to extend the line 

One of city council's biggest proponents of the Green Line is still hopeful there's room in the massive budget to extend the line in the south to reach McKenzie Towne. It would cost an estimated $300 million to add in the extra track and two stations, at Prestwick and McKenzie Towne.

"We should be able to do that," said Shane Keating, the councillor for Ward 12.

"First off, we will go out and talk to all of the contractors, the bidders, and make it known, 'here's the project today, but what can you do and what would the cost be if you extended it,'" said Keating.

The city says the available budget for the Green Line may actually increase — depending on the conditions attached to the $250-million Enabling Works funding that was provided by the federal and provincial governments.  

But nothing has been confirmed, and the city "wouldn't want to raise false hopes of there being more money for extending Stage 1 at this point," said Julie Yepishina-Geller, a communications consultant with the city.

Stage 1 of the project includes 20 kilometres of track and 14 stations, from Crescent Heights in the north to Shepard in the south.