Councillors dumbfounded by Metro LRT report outlining major deficiencies

City councillorssaid Mondaythey haven'tseen or read atwo-year-oldreport that detailed serious problems with the Metro LRT line to NAIT.

The report, leaked to the Edmonton Journal, lists a series of flaws in the construction of the line, including water pooling on the tracks, loose guard rails, and compromised electrical conduits used in thesignalling and communication systems.

"It is a mess, and I think at this point the public has the absolute right to know," said Coun. Tony Caterina. "You'd think you get what you paid for. We certainly didn't get what we paid for."

Coun. Mike Nickel said the report shows the construction projectwas a boondoggle,a cascade of failures.

Mayor Don Iveson admittedhe first heard about the problemsoutlined in thereport on Mondaymorning.

"We'll be expecting answers from administrationright away," he said.

"We're going to need some good answers and measures of accountability for what happened to this project."

The $700-million project is now15 months behind schedule.

The manager of the Metro LRT line project downplayed the report,saying it was just one of numerousreports completed onsuch a largeproject.

"It's not that we try to hide this," said Brad Smid. "This is how we manage projects.The deficiencies in that report are all things we knew about ... and rectified."

City manager Simon Farbrother would not say whether any councillorscalled him on Monday to talk about the report. He saidall the problems outlined in the report were fixed along the way.

"The things that are identified in the article have been rectified, and they would not have impacted the actual delivery date," Farbrothersaid.

On any complex project, there will bedeficiencies duringconstruction that will have to be fixed, he said.

"That's part of the development process. Obviously, if you've got much, much more significant issues that are going to impact the timing or the price of the construction project, then those do get elevated (to more senior managers)," he said. "But if there's something that's going to be managed within budget and on time, then we expect ourstaffto manage that. That's what we pay them for."

The only problems that delayed the LRT project were thosewith the signalling system, he said.

"Clearly for the council, the ideal scenario is this line would have already been up and running and open. We're as frustrated as anybody else."