Eglinton Crosstown won’t open until 2024, construction group to take legal action: Metrolinx

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT will not open until sometime in 2024 and the construction consortium in charge of building it intends to take legal action against Metrolinx and stop working with the TTC, according to the head of Metrolinx.

President and CEO Phil Verster says Metrolinx will defend the legal challenge from Crosslinx Transit Solutions (CTS) and calls the latest move from the group of construction companies an “unacceptable delay tactic” at a time when they should be focused on finishing the much-delayed project.

“They believe some of the arrangements we have with the TTC as the operator may may not have supported their delivery of the project. This is all about money,” Verster told CityNews during a one-on-one interview on Tuesday.

“This is without substance. What we need to focus on now is to drive together all of the parties to complete the project on time for the communities that have been waiting.”

Staff with the provincial transportation agency say they are already withholding significant payments from CTS for “poor performance” and continue to try to hold the company accountable. They also say they require a schedule of how CTS plans to “complete the testing, commissioning, safety and quality rectifications of the rail line.”

In a statement to CityNews, a Crosslinx spokesperson says the consortium had been forced to take legal action after “months of engagement with Metrolinx about the challenges to the project as a result of Metrolinx having no signed operating agreement with the TTC.”

The statement says a notice of application has been filed to try to seek to be treated fairly to allow the group to complete the project as efficiently as possible.

It notes construction is more than 98 per cent complete and testing, training and commissioning is currently underway. They claim that during this the TTC is able to make requests and provide input at any time, including at a late stage, that goes beyond CTS’s contractual responsibilities.

“Metrolinx has refused to manage or take ownership over these late changes requested by the TTC despite the undeniable continual impact on the project schedule,” read the statement.

“This has resulted in delays to the Project outside our control and significant costs overruns which CTS has continued to incur.”

CTS is asking the court to find that they are not obligated to continue working on the Eglinton Crosstown project while the issues between Metrolinx and the TTC are resolved.

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Despite the legal action, Verster says the CTS consortium remains the best organization to complete the project and hopes they respond favourably to the schedule request.

“We’re looking very carefully at how CTS is going to respond to our request,” he says when asked if another company or other companies should be brought in to take over.

“They are by far the best-placed organization to continue to deliver this project.

“Despite the fact that there are commercial claims like this, the work on the ground continues.”

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green told CityNews in a statement the legal issues are between Metrolinx and Crosslinx Transit Solutions.

“We have not been notified of any legal action against us at this time,” he wrote.

“The TTC continues to work with Metrolinx and CTS to start operating Line 5, Eglinton Crosstown, as soon as possible. We are ready to begin operator training as soon as construction is completed to a level that safely allows us to do so.”

News of the potential court battle and further delays did not sit well with Eglinton Avenue business owners CityNews spoke with on Tuesday.

“It also doesn’t help business. People are still staying away from Eglinton and it just feels like it’s getting ridiculous at this point,” Mark Lash jewelry co-owner Mark Lash said.

The sentiment was echoed by Maureen Sirois, the chair of the Eglinton Way BIA.

“[Business operators] are absolutely horrified this thing is going to be delayed further. It’s too much, it’s too long, it’s too intense, we can’t keep this up,” she told CityNews.

The line was originally set to open in 2020, but its deadline was pushed back multiple times. In the latter part of 2022, an indefinite delay was announced. During Tuesday’s interview, Verster said the new line isn’t expected to be operating until 2024.

“We’ve had our concerns about the 2023 date, which is exactly why we’ve been pushing so hard for a credible schedule,” he said.

“In our estimate, it’s a date in 2024, but when exactly that date is will depend on how much must still be fixed.”

Verster said a credible schedule involves dates for correcting deficiencies, training of crews, showing who is responsible for what and outlining the required resources.

“You want to see production rates that matches with what is achievable and we have not seen that in several cases,” he said, referring to Crosslinx’s past submissions.

Construction on the Crosstown began in 2011.

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Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney faced several questions at Queen’s Park over the project.

“We expect them (Crosslinx) to fulfill the terms of the contract. Ontarians paid billions of dollars for a transit system. We expect to get a transit system that works well and is safe,” she said while reiterating similar messaging about needing a credible schedule.

Provincial officials confirmed in late April there were approximately 260 deficiencies to be dealt with along the 19-kilometre transit line. The province and Metrolinx have blamed CTS for the control issues while also citing disrupted supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The most extensive work left to do appears to be concentrated at Yonge station, adding progress has been made in the past couple of months with construction before pivoting to overall safety and finishing issues.

“The critical thing for us now is to make sure that the whole transit system works properly, as intended, as specified and works together as a synchronous system,” he said

“The nonconformance and quality issues these must be rectified to get us to a quality product.”

The latest visible hiccup came last month when a CityNews crew visited Sloane station, located between the Don Valley Parkway and Victoria Park Avenue, and saw a jackhammer being used to dig up and repair “an uneven layer of concrete” on the platform – work that is scheduled to take at least a month.

CTS previously took legal action against Metrolinx and the province in 2020, over alleged delays and cost overruns related to COVID-19. The judge sided with the construction companies and the two sides negotiated a new agreement.

Several Toronto mayoral candidates running in the upcoming June byelection have called on the province to take responsibility for the transit agency’s inaction, especially as construction on the Ontario Line gets underway.