A new plan for the city's downtown tunnel calls for scrapping the planned route along Albert Street, and instead digging a tunnel that's not as deep on Queen Street.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson made the announcement at a special meeting at Ottawa City Hall Thursday afternoon.
Watson said the original route for the tunnel would have put the project over the $2.1-billion estimate.
The new route means crews won't have to dig as deep, and trains will only be four storeys underground, instead of 12.
The city says the number one complaint it got from the private sector and the public was that the original plan for the tunnel was too deep.
David Jeanes, president of Transport Action Canada, says the new plan is a great improvement for passengers because they won't have to go as far underground.
However, he's still concerned that the tunnel will go under the Rideau Canal.
Watson says this is the most positive he's been about shovels hitting the ground for light rail during this term of council.
The downtown tunnel should be complete by 2018.
With files from CTV Ottawa's Karen Soloman
