The Valley Line LRT is getting national attention from Renew Canada, a leading construction industry magazine, which has ranked the 27-kilometre development in its top 100 list of Canada's biggest infrastructure projects. Placing 25th, Edmonton's largest ever single infrastructure project will run low-floor, light-rail vehicles on segregated tracks along streets from Mill Woods in the southeast, through downtown, to Lewis Farms in the west end. The 13.1-kilometre southeast leg began construction in 2016.

Rendering of the Tawatinâ Bridge, to replace the Cloverdale Footbridge, image via TransEd Partners

One of the most visible signs of construction for the $1.8 billion project was the recent removal of the Cloverdale Footbridge that spanned the North Saskatchewan River. Despite calls from preservationists to save the structure, which has been rooted into the landscape for decades, crews started disassembling the bridge in December. For now, photographers itching for the wondrous skyline view the bridge afforded will have to wait until 2019, when the replacement Tawatinâ Bridge is scheduled to open. A multi-use path underneath the rail deck will provide the same connections the Cloverdale Footbridge had offered. 

Heavy machinery stares down the Cloverdale Footbridge, image by Flickr user Mack Male via Creative Commons

When the first phase of the transformational transit project is complete in 2020, its terminus will be graced by a colourful assortment of Indigenous art. Intended to capture the area's rich cultural heritage, the Edmonton Arts Council has launched a public competition that will determine the fit and form of the paintings, photographs, drawings, or text that are to be converted onto the glass of the transit shelter. Artists have until January 12 to submit their creations, with the winning design to be selected in March.

Segregated tracks along the street will serve the LRT, image via TransEd Partners

Similar transit projects to make the list include Toronto's Eglinton Crosstown LRT at 4th place, Calgary's Green Line LRT at 11th and the Ottawa LRT at 16th place. The $13 billion, 15-year refurbishment project of six Bruce Power nuclear reactors near Kincardine, Ontario, earned the top spot. 

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