Construction industry examining ways
to improve subway-building costs
A push to expedite shovel-ready transit projects promises
to be a major part of government efforts to kick-start the
economy in the wake of COVID-19. However, maximizing
the value created by such infrastructure investments will
be essential when governments are revenue constrained,
says the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of
Ontario (RCCAO).
Subway-building costs in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
remained flat in real dollars per kilometre through the
second half of the 20th century, but they have increased well
beyond the rate of inflation in the past two decades, says a
new independent report commissioned by RCCAO and written
by transit researcher Stephen Wickens.
Among the findings in “Station to Station: Why Subwaybuilding
Costs Have Soared in the Toronto Region,” Wickens
provides in-depth, inflation-adjusted comparisons based
on projects in the GTA, and other jurisdictions in Canada
and internationally.
As building more cost-effective projects is of even greater
importance during these unprecedented times, Wickens
examines ways in which total costs can be reined in. Of the
11 factors reviewed, highlights include:
• Expand the cost-crisis conversation beyond the usual
transit experts.
• Plan for and protect transit corridors.
• Rethink factors that can make stations special. While
maximizing utility is paramount, designs that aim
to be uplifting need not result in monuments to an
architect’s ego.
• Approve long-term transit plans based on evidence.
Politicians have the most important role in the process:
choosing which projects get approved and funded from
a menu of options prepared by transit experts who have
been freed to exercise their professional independence
and speak truth to power.
• Minimize the use of tunnels and keep tunnels as shallow
as possible when there is a need to go underground. Best
practice from around the world is to build using shallow
box tunnels and, in less-dense suburban areas, at-grade
and above-ground corridors.
• Create tools and processes to ensure stations and their
catchment areas deliver full returns on investments.
The report also assesses the effectiveness of current
project planning and evaluation models, as well as the publicprivate
partnership (P3) procurement approach used for the
under-construction Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
Wickens said, “Early experience by Metrolinx and
Infrastructure Ontario with transit projects should not be a
reason to hastily abandon the P3 model. To improve the process,
however, everyone needs access to better information
to vigorously assess P3 effectiveness.”
RCCAO executive director Andy Manahan said, “In a
COVID-19 world, I hope this research will jumpstart an
urgent debate on how to improve all aspects of delivery for
complex transit-infrastructure projects. The Ontario government
deserves praise for prioritizing the Ontario Line and
for considering innovative at-grade and above-grade designs.
But this project must be built with sufficient future capacity
to move people properly into and out of the core. Even
though physical distancing measures have impacted transit
ridership, adding to the Toronto region’s subway system
remains an important goal and will ultimately help to reboot
Ontario’s economy.”
Jeffrey Machine Inc. welcomes Cindy Liles
as outside sales representative
Jeffrey Machine Inc. announces the appointment of Cindy
Liles as an outside sales representative for the South-Central
region for the company. Liles will work in all aspects of sales
including business development and attending industry
meetings and events. Liles has been part of the construction
industry for 25 years and specifically the drilling industry for
eight years.
For more information visit, www.jeffreymachine.com.
GENMIKE/123RF
INDUSTRY NEWS
JEFFREY MACHINE INC.
84 Q2 2020 www.pilingcanada.ca
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