Beltline Downtown Utility Relocation Project (Third-party Shallow Utilities)

May 2, 2024

Stations: Eau Claire, 7 Avenue S.W., Centre Street S., 4 Street S.E.

Status: Current

Type: Utilities

ENMAX maintenance hole crane lift at 6 Avenue and 2 Street S.W.

The Beltline Downtown Utility Relocation program involving third-party shallow utilities (fibre, electricity, gas, etc.) began in September 2022 and will continue through to spring of 2025. This work is being completed by various third-party utility companies, including ENMAX, TELUS, Bell, Zayo, Calgary District Heating, Rogers/Shaw and ATCO Gas.

Start Date: September 2020
Completion Date: Spring 2025

Construction partners

Calgary Built: The Green Line LRT – Episode 1: ENMAX Maintenance Hole Installation

Green Line wants to take you behind the scenes to the big and small construction projects that are all part of building Calgary’s next LRT line. Have you ever wondered about those circular plates in the road and, even more interesting, what is down there? We break down the installation of a maintenance hole by ENMAX.

Construction details

Prior to tunnelling and building the stations, we must remove potential utility conflicts, which involves moving the existing underground utilities to other locations. By doing this work now, it makes the tunnelling process quicker and reduces risk to the project.

All shallow utility work, which consists of utilities less than 1.5 metres deep, must be completed by the third-party utility company, as set out in The City of Calgary’s Municipal Rights-of-Way Bylaw.

This work is happening across downtown along the entire Green Line alignment, from Eau Claire south along 2 Street S.E. to 11 Avenue S.E. and then east along 11 Avenue S.E. into Victoria Park.

For up-to-date notices on active construction work related to this project, check the Impacts and notices web page.

ENMAX maintenance hole duct bank installation and concrete casing.

Underneath the streets of downtown Calgary are all kinds of utility lines, such as water, natural gas, and electricity. Before we can build the Green Line tunnel under the Beltline and Downtown, we need to relocate existing underground utilities.

This is a significant investment in infrastructure renewal. New relocated utilities will be built to accommodate increases in population expected in this area in the future. Upgrades in infrastructure will include:

1,280 metres of new watermains in Beltline East
1,000 metres of new sanitary pipe in Beltline East
855 metres of new road
670 metres of sidewalk improvements
515 metres of new pathway

Full Map

Downtown

Estimated timeline: Summer 2022 to 2024

To make way for the Green Line stations and tunnel under 2 Street S.W., extensive work will be done to move utilities away from 2 Street and into adjacent streets and avenues.
Modifying some buildings' third-party utility servicing so the new infrastructure can be connected to buildings.
Impacts will include closures of intersections, roads, lanes, pathways and sidewalks, on-street parking removal, cycle track closures, bus stop relocations, congestion and traffic delays.

See construction projects in this area

Beltline West

Estimated timeline: Summer 2022 to 2024

To make way for the Green Line station and tunnel under 11 Avenue S.W., we must relocate/realign existing third-party utilities from 11 Avenue S.W. into adjacent streets, avenues and alleyways.
Modifying some buildings' third-party utility servicing so the new infrastructure can be connected to buildings.
Impacts will include loss of on-street parking, lane closures and cycle track detours.

See construction projects in this area

Beltline East

Beltline East (Culture + Entertainment District)

To make way for the Green Line station and tunnel under 11 Avenue S.E., we relocated existing utility infrastructure (storm and sanitary trunk and water feeder main) from 11 Avenue S.E. and 6 Street S.E. into Olympic Way and 12 Avenue S.E.
New utility infrastructure is an important investment in the Culture + Entertainment District, which is under development to become a hub for arts, sports and culture, with new residential, office and commercial development.

See construction projects in this area

Other construction work in this area:

The Culture + Entertainment District is under construction, with more than $600M in city-building projects led by CMLC underway in the area, including the BMO Centre expansion, the 17 Ave S.E. Extension and Station Rebuild Project, Stampede Trail Redevelopment, and more to begin this year. Calgary Stampede’s construction of the SAM Centre is also underway within the area.
View the Culture + Entertainment District access map to see road closures and other construction impacts in the area.