Windstorm couldn’t stop record-setting crowds at RibFest
Page 13 WEDNESDAY
▶ August 21, 2024 ▶ langleyadvancetimes.com
SkyTrain price jumps Completion date has been moved to 2029 Matthew Claxton matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com
WEEKEND UPS AND DOWNS: Langley rider Tiffany Foster’s victory was snatched away by Ireland’s James Chawke during the jump-off of the ATCO Cup grand prix on Sunday, Aug. 18. Though she placed second aboard Battlecry, she still came away from the Summer Fort Classic with the Kubota Canada victory from Saturday. See story, page 28. (Kyler Emerson/Black Press Media)
SUMMER SPECIAL 10% OFF ON ALL SERVICES
The Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension will arrive a year later than planned, and cost almost $2 billion more than originally budgeted, the provincial government announced last Thursday. In a press release about the imminent start of construction, and the selection of key contractors for the project, the government announced that the new eight-station line will not be in service until late 2029. That’s a year later than the original planned date of 2028. It will also cost almost 50 per cent more than originally budgeted. Originally set to cost $4.01 billion, the SkyTrain extension will now cost $5.996 billion, the provincial Woodward announcement said. Langley Township Mayor Eric Woodward questioned whether the delay means that recent provincial housing and density reforms make “even less sense” than they did a few days ago. Other major projects are also seeing costs rise. “Construction costs inflation the last few years, as high as 25 per cent or even higher, is complicating every major infrastructure project,” Woodward said. “This is why it continues to be so important to get capital projects underway sooner.” Inflation – at a 40-year high less than two years ago – along with commodity costs, supply chain pressures, and labour market challenges were blamed for the increase in costs. continued on page 11…
RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • STRATA
www.northwestx.ca