Metrolinx is telling the consortium responsible for building the Finch West LRT, which has launched legal action, to “get out of court and back to work” as a growing spat threatens to delay the opening of another light rail line in Toronto.
The provincial transit agency issued a sharp statement directed at Mosaic Transit Partners — the group that won a $2.5-billion contract to design, build and maintain a light rail line on Finch Avenue — after Mosaic launched legal action claiming Metrolinx had entered into a problematic deal with the TTC.
The battle comes as the government celebrated significant progress on the Finch West LRT project, originally slated to be completed in 2023 and set to connect Line 1 of the Toronto subway to the Humber Polytechnique campus.
In its lawsuit, first reported by Media, Mosaic argued that an agreement between Metrolinx and the TTC violated the original terms it signed onto and was making it impossible to finish the line.
Until the Finch West LRT is considered substantially complete, Metrolinx is withholding roughly $500 million from the consortium.
“We are working closely with Mosaic to get passengers on the Finch West LRT at the soonest possible date,” Metrolinx said in a statement sent to Media
“The CEOs of Metrolinx, Mosaic and its partner companies meet several times per month to work through challenges or problems that may come up in the delivery of this project. This is above and beyond the daily working relationship that exists among our technical teams.”
Earlier this year, with Mosaic “signalling” it had issues with liquidity, Metrolinx offered to give the consortium a substantial advance on the $500 million it was withholding until completion. The consortium has yet to reject or accept it, sources told had indicated to Media.