TORONTO

With the Spadina subway extension poised to cost at least $150 million more and take an extra year to finish, the TTC should no longer manage the project. CEO Andy Byford recommended Friday.

A report going to the Toronto Transit Commission next week suggests a third-party management company should be given a sole-source deal to take over the extension and give it a major “reset” to ensure it gets finished by December 2017 — the earliest possible date of any of the four options presented by Byford.

The $2.6-billion subway project was originally supposed to be completed this year before that date was pushed back to next year. Now Byford is warning that if the TTC stays in charge of the project, it will cost an additional $185 million and not be finished until the first half of 2019.

Byford said he’s “confident” the project can be completed by 2017 for $150 million more.

“I think it will be a challenge but if the board agrees with our recommendation ... I believe that’s our best possible chance. I believe it can be done,” he said in a press conference at TTC headquarters.

If the recommended option is approved, the City of Toronto would be on the hook for $90 million of the $150 million additional cost while York Region would be asked to pay the remaining $60 million.

The TTC is recommending the city’s additional funding portion come from the TTC budget surplus, deferring unspecified projects and the sale of some TTC property. York Region CAO Bruce Macgregor confirmed Friday a report will be going to regional council on March 26 to request additional authorization for the $60 million.

But the TTC still won’t reveal how much in outstanding claims from contractors could end up costing the project.

“There are a lot of claims. It is certainly a big figure,” Byford acknowledged. “In one case, the claim is more than the base contract.

“Part of that reset is to have professional claims people come in and not only estimate the quantum ... but see what can be paid legitimately.”

Byford said the project was 70% completed, chronicled the delays that have plagued the timeline including the death of a worker at York University station and showed off artist renditions of the stations — none of which are completed.

“This will be the reality once this thing opens, a state-of-the-art, world-class railway that Toronto can be proud of, Toronto and York Region,” he said as he revealed a slide showing a sketch of a completed station. “An absolute glittering extension to our transit system.”

The report’s release comes a day after Byford announced that the two key TTC bureaucrats connected with the project were no longer with the organization.

Asked why he waited so long to make the personnel changes, Byford said he doesn’t believe in “knee-jerks.”

“I wanted to understand the prevailing nature of the project ... I concluded that if we were truly to get that reset that that change needed to happen,” he said.

Over the next few months, Byford said he will spend more of his time focused on the delivery of major projects, cultural change at the TTC and business transformation while deputy TTC CEO Chris Upfold will be focused on the daily transit operations.

“This is decisive action, it is what needs to be done,” Byford said. “It is my intention to personally drive these major projects to completion.”

If the project can’t be completed by 2017, Byford said he expects “to be held accountable.”

Asked directly if he feels his job is riding on the extension being finished by 2017, Byford said he believes it would be a “major factor.”

Despite being under fire, Byford remained upbeat.

“Again, we are where we are,” he said. “I’m not going to bleat about it. I’ve got to manage this through to fruition.”

The transit boss wouldn’t speculate on whether the TTC should have managed the project from the beginning.

“That was the decision at the time,” he said. “I can’t turn the clock back.”

TTC chair Josh Colle said Friday “the status quo cannot continue with respect to this project, or any of the TTC’s major capital infrastructure projects.

“As I’ve said before, it is unacceptable that the Spadina Subway Extension is delayed and over budget,” Colle said. “The Commission will be reviewing and considering the options before us in order to get on with a plan to get this project completed.

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What went wrong on the Spadina subway extension?

The TTC tried to explain it Friday with three key moments in the project’s history — its initially aggressive schedule got off to a slow start, the utility work involved was “more complex and extensive” than planned and the 2011 fatality at York University Station.

TTC CEO Andy Byford admitted Friday that “this has been a challenging project right from the start.”

Here’s a rundown of three of the biggest reasons the TTC pointed to in an effort to explain the delays:

THE SCHEDULE

TTC CEO Andy Byford said the project “suffered” an 18-month delay in 2007 when the transit authority was ready to start construction in March but the funds to build it weren’t released until September 2008.

“That 18 months was not added to the protect schedule,” Byford said. “I’m not going to hide behind the fact, the TTC did agree to that at the time.”

THE UTILITIES

Byford said the utility work around the project turned out to be much more complex than the TTC had originally planned for.

“When you start digging, you find things aren’t where you thought they were going to be,” he said. “We have had to do extensive power, water and sewer relocations and that has led to some delays.”

The TTC estimates the various delays from utility work has ranged from two months to 11 months.

THE FATALITY

On Oct. 11, 2011, Kyle Knox — who was working for a sub-contractor at York University Station — was killed on site when a crane fell over.

The Ministry of Labour shut down work at the York University Station site for almost four months.

That site shutdown did impact the construction schedule, the TTC said.

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How do you solve a problem like the Spadina subway extension?

Here are the four options for the future of the embattled project that TTC commissioners will have to consider next week:

OPTION 1 (Recommended by TTC CEO Andy Byford)

The TTC would sole-source a third party to manage the rest of the project. There would be a full “reset” of the project and contractor relationships and the third party would manage and resolve claims.

Estimated cost: $150 million

Estimated opening date: Fourth quarter of 2017

OPTION 2:

Same as Option 1 except the TTC would start a public bidding process to find a third party to manage the project. Staff estimate the search would take an additional six months and cost an additional $30 million.

Estimated cost: $180 million

Estimated opening date: Second quarter of 2018

OPTION 3

The TTC would continue to keep managing the project but bring in some outside expertise. This option would manage and resolve some claims but risk an increase in others.

Estimated cost: $155 million

Estimated opening date: Fourth quarter of 2018

OPTION 4

This status quo option would leave the current TTC as the project team in charge and runs the risk of higher claims on the project. Byford strongly recommends against this option.

Estimated cost: $180 million

Estimated opening date: Second quarter of 2019

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