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Gray said the group had examined applicable studies and advice from experts and concluded the project carried an “unacceptably high risk” of becoming an “economic catastrophe” for the city.

According to a letter co-signed by Brian Felesky, Steve Allan and Barry Lester, external and internal risk estimates provided to the city caution that the project could go over budget by as much as $2 billion.

Transportation chair Shane Keating said the $2-billion figure cited by the group may have been based on interpretations of early cost estimates that have since been further refined.

“Stopping the Green Line, or pausing the Green Line, is absolutely the wrong direction to go,” Keating said.

“But taking sections of the Green Line that give us difficulty and saying, ‘what can we do differently?’ is absolutely the right way to go.”

Committee members voted Wednesday to have administration respond with a letter to the concerns raised by the businessmen. City staff said they have been in discussion with the group since last February.