RFP Released for Toronto’s Scarborough Subway Extension Project

The Scarborough Subway Extension project will bring Toronto Transit Commission’s Line 2 subway 4.8 miles (7.8 kilometers) further into Scarborough, with stations at Lawrence Avenue and McCowan Road; Scarborough Center; and Sheppard Avenue and McCowan Road.

Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx have issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to the three teams shortlisted for the Scarborough Subway Extension’s Stations, Rail and Systems (SRS) contract.

The $4.5 billion (C$5.5 billion) Scarborough project will extend Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) Bloor-Danforth Line 2 subway 4.8 miles (7.8 kilometers) from Kennedy Station to a new terminus at Sheppard Avenue and McCowan Road (see map above). It will include three stations, and provide up to six connections with other transit options, including one GO Train line (Stouffville); up to two local rapid transit lines (Line 5/Eglinton Crosstown and the future Sheppard Subway Extension); and three bus services (GO Transit, Durham Region Transit and TTC buses). Completion is expected by 2029-30, with 105,000 daily boardings by 2041.

The three shortlisted teams for the SRS contract were selected based on criteria identified in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process that began in September 2021. Criteria included design and construction experience, as well as the financial capacity to deliver a project of this size and complexity, according to Infrastructure Canada.

The teams are:

1. Dragados: Comprising applicant lead and construction prime member Dragados Canada, Inc.; and design prime team member AECOM Canada, Ltd.
2. KSX Integrated Design-Builders: Comprising Peter Kiewit Sons ULC and SNC-Lavalin Constructors (Pacific) Inc., as applicant leads, design prime team members, and construction prime team members.
3. Scarborough Transit Connect: Comprising applicant leads and construction prime team members Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc. and FCC Construccion S.A.; and design prime team member Mott MacDonald Canada Limited.

The three will have until summer to submit detailed plans on how they will design and build stations and emergency exit buildings; fit the tunnel with track and signals; and install and commission the systems required for operations.

Under Ontario’s Progressive Design-Build procurement model, Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx will evaluate the proposals and award the development contract this fall. The construction contract will be awarded in mid-2024, they said.

“We are exceptionally pleased to invite these experienced teams to share their proposals for delivering the stations, rail and systems for the Scarborough Subway Extension,” Metrolinx President and CEO Phil Verster said. “This is a new contract form, with a very different approach to project development and planning than Ontario’s traditional P3 [public-private partnership] contracts. It represents an example of how we are working closely with the market to select the right approach to deliver these projects as quickly as possible.”

“This milestone brings us another step closer to delivering modern, reliable transit for customers in Scarborough and across the [Greater Toronto] region,” added Jenny Matharu, Metrolinx Program Sponsor for the Scarborough Subway Extension.

Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario on May 25, 2021 awarded the Scarborough project’s $613.8 million (C$757.1 million) tunneling contract to Strabag; a groundbreaking was held June 23, 2021. Work is well under way at the launch shaft site, located at Sheppard and McCowan, to prepare for tunneling, which is set to begin later this year. Last month, the tunnel boring machine arrived at the site from Germany and is now being assembled, according to Metrolinx.

The Scarborough Subway Extension is part of a $23.1 billion (C$28.5 billion) subway expansion program for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, which the government of Ontario announced in April 2019. The program also includes these three projects: a new Ontario Line (a nearly 16-kilometer or 9.94-mile free-standing line); the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (extending the Eglinton Crosstown LRT 9.2 kilometers or 5.72 miles); and the Yonge North Subway Extension (a 8-kilometer or 4.97-mile extension, bringing TTC’s existing Line 1 subway to the cities of Vaughan, Markham and Richmond Hill). The projects are being procured and delivered by Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx.

In May 2021, the Canadian government agreed to pay a 40% share, up to $8.7 billion (C$10.7 billion), for the four subway projects.