City of Calgary West LRT Project Use of Design Build For Fast Track Delivery

Abstract

In November 2007, City Council approved the alignment and funding for Calgary’s West Light Rail Transit (WLRT) project to serve communities in west Calgary. The Council decision also addressed a project completion date of December 2012, coinciding with a timeline that kept the overall $1.4 Billion program budget within a schedule for available provincial funding and is considered a success by every metric.

The most significant of which is meeting both internal and external stakeholder expectations. The eight kilometre extension of Calgary’s C-Train Light Rail system opened exactly on schedule on December 10, 2012 after an unprecedented five year fast-track design build project delivery period. This paper presents the Owner’s rationale for proceeding with design-build delivery and how public and organizational considerations were addressed. This paper will also present an overview on how the project was planned and executed and finally, some key lessons learned from an Owner’s perspective.