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Transit City undergoes overhaul

Rob Ford’s first order of business as Mayor of Toronto was to declare Transit City “over.” But the plan isn’t completely dead – it’s just getting a major revamp.

New mayor of Toronto buries Transit City

Just hours into his new job as mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford announced that he intends to put the brakes on the Transit City LRT lines. The $8 billion plan to build four new lines is largely funded by the province.

Ford met with TTC chief general manager Gary Webster at seven this morning to confirm he wants to kill the 120-kms of streetcar routes laid out by outgoing mayor David Miller. Ford says he’d rather see subways built.

“I just wanted to make it quite clear that [Webster] understood that Transit City’s over and the war on the car is over, and all new subway expansion is going underground. And that’s pretty well it.

“I just told him that everything moving forward is underground. And he accepted that. And I look forward to working with him.” Ford said, according to…

U.S. Leaders Halting Public Construction Projects—What It Means for the Future of Infrastructure Projects in Canada

By Barry LePatner In New Jersey, amidst much controversy, Gov. Chris Christie recently killed plans to build the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) tunnel under the Hudson River after claiming that the State could not afford the project’s ever-increasing costs. In Wisconsin, newly-elected Governor Scott Walker announced that he will end plans for a [...]

Off the Rails

The Windsor-Detroit crossing will make the Top 100 list in 2011 for the fourth year running. Is there light at the end of the “jobs tunnel?”

What Makes a Project “Top?”

We asked a varied group to review this year’s 
Top 100 and, using their own criteria, 
to choose their own top-ranking Canadian projects.

Juneau chose his number-one project because, like many projects on the Top 100, it shows that we can actually complete big undertakings. His top pick is the Red River Floodway Expansion (#29). “This [brownfield] project would have been very difficult to start without the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF) impetus.”

He ranks Quebec’s Autoroute 30 (#11) second for similar reasons. Also started, or restarted, with the support of the CSIF, this project has had its share of roadblocks. “Many were skeptical,” says Juneau. But it’s a top project in his estimation because it represents the work of a project champion, in this case at the federal level. “Serge Marcil, a former federal…

The Top 10

In this year’s Top 100 list, our first ten projects represent $26.49 billion in infrastructure investment—in the game of infrastructure development, that puts them at the top. When construction officially began in May 2009 on Hydro-Québec’s renewable energy project along Northern Quebec’s Romaine River, Quebec Premier Jean Charest said, “Today, we are launching the biggest [...]

Welcome to Top100Projects.ca

This year’s Top 100 Infrastructure Projects list represents over $68-billion in infrastructure investments in Canada. The fact that 46 of those projects are new to the list is an indication of just how robust the infrastructure industry in Canada was in 2009.

International Top Tens Part One

From “bluefield development”  to record-breaking solar fields, Canada’s not the only country showcasing some top-ten-worthy projects. Some noteworthy North American projects were highlighted at a recent conference. Sunrise Powerlink Transmission Project US$1.9 billion There is enormous potential for solar, geothermal and wind energy that remains untapped in San Diego County and the sunny Imperial Valley. [...]

International Top Tens Part Two

ARC Project – Trans-Hudson Passenger Rail Tunnel US$7.6 billion The project entails the construction of a new two-track tunnel and an expansion of Penn Station New York—currently using a century-old rail system—to accommodate the region’s growing number of commuters. The commuter rail tunnel would more than double its capacity. US$110 million is being invested in [...]