A new TTC report indicates the cost to complete the Spadina subway extension has now ballooned to more than $3 billion.
According to the report released Friday, the six-station, 8.6-kilometre subway extension into Vaughan requires an additional $400 million in order to be completed by the end of 2017.
The revised budget is now $3.184 billion, up from the initial estimate of just over $2.6 billion.
"What you will get for the money is a subway extension that is the envy of all North America," TTC CEO Andy Byford told reporters on Friday.
TTC staff say start-up delays, scope and design changes as well as numerous claims and settlements with contractors are being blamed for cost overruns.
Byford said Friday that the $400 million figure is not already committed, but needed to “cope” with anticipated claim costs.
“That amount of money needs to be put aside for claims that we know have merit and do need to be funded in the future,” Byford told reporters during an underground tour of the subway construction.
The TTC is now set to ask for the additional $400 million to be split 40/60, with $240 million from the City of Toronto and the remaining $160 million from York Region.
In March, the TTC announced that the project was $150 million over-budget and outlined the need for a “project reset” to ensure the completion of the subway line by the end of 2017.
In a news release, TTC Chair Josh Colle said the claim amounts provide a “stark reminder of why it is so important to reset this project and change the way the TTC conducts its business.”
The extension, which will link Downsview Station to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, was initially supposed to be completed in 2016.
