Important milestones in the blue line extension schedule have been postponed in recent weeks, ahead of the closing of the project’s largest call for tenders.
These delays, which are added to others, raise questions about the possibility of inaugurating the five new metro stations in 2030, the objective still planned “for the moment”.
The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) has agreed to give more time to the contractor who will dig the 6-kilometer tunnel. Tender documents show that some deadlines have been postponed by more than 200 days: the contractor will have an additional eight months to complete its work at the future Viau, Pie-IX and Lacordaire stations.
The tender process itself took longer than expected: it ended on 1er February, after four deadline extensions. It was first supposed to close in November.
“Our office is staying the course and our objective remains to deliver the project as quickly as possible,” assured Kevin Bilodeau, communications manager at the STM. “Analyses are updated regularly to anticipate any possible repercussions. Our teams work tirelessly to deliver the best project, at the right cost and within a realistic schedule. »
During an interview at the end of January, the head of the STM indicated that the date of 2030 was being maintained “for the moment”. “We give the best project conditions to deliver it. We are still on a deadline of 2030 as we speak,” indicated Marie-Claude Léonard.
“Discussions and negotiations”
The STM is now considering its options after the tunnel boring machine call for tenders has closed.
In November, The Press had reported that only the Mobilité Bleu Horizon consortium (led by Pomerleau) was still in the running.
“The submission process is now complete, we are starting the analysis process,” indicated Kevin Bilodeau of the STM, without confirming the number of submissions received, if any. “Our team will assess the conformity of the elements submitted as part of this process. A selection committee will then carry out a qualitative analysis taking into account several criteria, including price, experience of the bidders, organization and planning of the project. »
The project is carried out according to the “discussions and negotiations” formula, allowing the STM to turn to a bidder to initiate a dialogue.
“This call for tenders is the most important for the extension of the blue line. It is therefore a significant step in the advancement of the project,” he continued. The identity of the successful bidder will be announced no later than July 30, 2024.
This is not the only large-scale call for tenders that the STM is currently looking into.
Last November, the STM received bids from companies ready to tackle the complete change of the train control system on the blue line (including the extension), a huge project. Since then, she has been analyzing the proposals submitted: the French company Alstom is asking for 563 million, while Ground Transportation Systems Canada Inc. is demanding 217 million to do the work.