Seattle's new streetcars and its old tracks may not fit each other, Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office revealed on Tuesday as a project for a new public transit line continued to be reviewed by an auditing firm.
The revelation about the streetcars, planned for a new line along First Avenue through downtown Seattle, comes as possible "additional capital shortfalls" to build the line were identified, the Seattle Times reported. The new line's projected cost has already jumped from $150 million to $200 million.
The Times said it wasn’t clear if the new streetcars, ordered from manufacturer CAF USA, are compatible with the city's current streetcar system. The mayor’s office also said the new streetcars may not fit the current maintenance barn, as well.
The Seattle Department of Transportation ordered the 10 new streetcars for the new line this past fall for $52 million, the Times said.
MyNorthwest.com reported that Durkan stopped construction of the project in March after learning the project's cost had soared.
The streetcars themselves are different from what the city already uses, the website said.
"The street cars that were ordered are longer, wider, and heavier," the mayor's office said. "… The engineering review will help determine if the streetcars are compatible with the track gauge and a host of other questions as well."
The mayor's office cited the ongoing KPMG report, which it said should be completed sometime in August.
"The KPMG analysis was much more complex than initially expected — including the review of thousands of estimates, design materials and correspondence," Durkan's office wrote Tuesday, the Times noted.
Her office said a more detailed "engineering review is critical to understanding the cost and feasibility of the project."
Seattle's contract with CAF USA does allow cancellation for any reason, providing that the city pays for work already done, the Times said.
"Council central staff, on my request, has verified the accuracy of this report; it appears the error will require either a change order for the design of the streetcars or incur new costs for construction of new or retrofitted maintenance barns," city councilwoman Lisa Herbold’s blog said last week.
"I am requesting that the mayor's streetcar assessment include full transparency in the added costs for this unfortunate error. It's disappointing to hear this — these issues of accountability need to be dealt with much earlier, and they highlight the need for the increased capital project oversight the council has been working on," Herbold continued.
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