Cincinnati's New Mayor Calls Halt to Streetcar Project
A Cincinnati streetcar project, embroiled in controversy in recent years over cost overruns and management, faces an uncertain future after Tuesday's election ushered in a new mayor who vowed to halt the project that has tied up $148 million of city funds.
Mayor-elect John Cranley, a Democrat who ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility that included stopping the project, won about 58% of the votes tallied, according to unofficial results from the Hamilton County Board of Elections. He beat out current Vice-Mayor Roxanne Qualls, also a Democrat, who supported the project.
"We are going to cancel the streetcar," said Mr. Cranley, a lawyer and former member of the City Council, during a press conference on Wednesday. "They should immediately stop spending…let's put everything on ice."
It may not be so easy to stop the streetcar cold. The city began work on the project in 2007 and has already spent about $23 million. Construction workers began laying track and pouring concrete in August and utility relocation started last year. An additional $94 million is tied up in contracts, and it's unclear how much of that would still be paid out by the city.
"This is completely unprecedented," said John Deatrick, the project executive for the Cincinnati streetcar, referring to the possibility of the city pulling out of the project. "It doesn't mean that it can't be done, but we just don't know at what cost yet."
According to Mr. Deatrick, the city would contact vendors to notify them of the halt, then determine final payment, and then try to negotiate it down.
The project has been beset by a host of problems. The engineers' cost estimates were below contractor bids, and the city has had to pay an additional $17.4 million. The project has been through the bid process three times so far, as well. And the federal government has kicked in $5 million more than originally planned.
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