The launch of the Toronto-York Spadina subway extension could be further delayed due to a lawsuit filed by the TTC against the contractor of Vaughan’s subway station.
The $10-million lawsuit argues that the contractor, Arup Canada failed to meet scheduled dead-lines, use “skilled, competent staff,” and to meet building and electrical codes.
It’s currently unknown if this alleged breach-of-contract will affect the current date of completion, and which subway sites will be impacted.
Although Andy Byford, TTC CEO, would not comment on the lawsuit to various media outlets, he said the plan to open the line remains set for late fall 2016.
“We do know that is going to be a challenge at a number of the sites. My project team is working with the contractors to see what’s possible,” said Byford in a CBC article.
According to Brad Ross, executive director of corporate communications for the TTC, lawsuits like this one against Arup Canada are common.
“We have many contracts that we take action against to protect our interests, so this is not an unusual thing,” he says.
In an article to The National Post, Byford also revealed that the timeframe of the expansion has been difficult since the beginning.
The line extension has already been delayed once, as the completion was originally set for December 2015.
The TTC blamed this delay on contractor performance and the amount of time spent on obtaining funding approvals. The blame has also been placed on the time it took for the contractor to reach an agreement on station designs, extensive work needed to relocate utilities, and the death of a construction worker at the York construction site in October 2011.
For the time being, it is unknown if the project will be delayed further due to the lawsuit. The TTC maintains it is working to avoid this.
“I have no information to suggest that the project will be delayed because of this,” says Ross.
Andrew McAlpine, principal of Arup Canada, says the lawsuit is general in nature and was filed over six months ago.
“While we are responding in due course, we remain confident of an amicable resolution and continue to keep our focus on delivering a successful project.”
Ashley Glovasky, News Editor
Photo by Kinga Szymczyk
