Normally when there is a subway construction announcement, it is Premier Doug Ford who is front and centre, but perhaps Ford sensed something, because today it was Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney on her own to make an announcement regarding progress on the 8 kilometer extension of the Yonge Street North subway. Once the announcement of a pre-tendering process for the extension was out of the way, virtually every question for the Minister was related to the delays plaguing the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, and the questions were direct.
Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster had to stand next to the minister as reporters asked Mulroney why, as is rumored, there is serious discussion of giving Verster a big raise that would take his salary close to $1 million per year.
On the question of when the transit public might expect to see the Crosstown ready for use, Minister Mulroney refused to provide a date, saying the government. through Metrolinx, had been unable to get a “credible” completion date from the contractor, Crossllinx Transit Systems (CTS). She pointed to the many breakdowns following the rushed opening of the Ottawa LRT as a reason for not opening a transit line to the public before it has been thoroughly checked out. Her ministry had ordered an inquiry into that project’s many operational problems, but it was not an Ontario or Metrolinx project.
For his part, Phil Verster seemed to add to the impression that the project lacked oversight when he admitted that a stretch of the track was not properly spaced by a few millimeters and that it posed a risk of derailment. He was unable to provide an answer to a reporter who asked how such an error could go undetected up to this point. A caller to the Kelly Cutrara radio talk show said concrete from one of the new Crosstown stations had to be broken up and hauled away due to an unidentified deficiency. At one point he said Metrolinx had no control over how CTS schedules its work. The best estimate for the opening of the Crosstown now is not this year but maybe in 2024
Much like Ottawa the lack of openess is apparent. SILENCE,COVER-UPS leeds to increased cost.Phil Verster was hired to improve a badly operated Metrolinx.Seems He’s more interested in increasing his salary. ONE DOES NOT SEE THE AUDITOR GENERAL investigating Metrolinx.Much like the Ottawa LRT system Silence ,Cover-ups seems to be the norm.Verster does not need a raise but needs investigated.SOON COMING TO HAMILTON.NOT WORKING IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE TAX PAYERS.SAME OLD SAME OLD