The light rail consortium is set to release more than 75 separate tenders to the market over the coming eight months, looking for companies to do work as specialised as removing asbestos, to building roller shutter doors and bifolds on the tram depot.
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Work packages will be released for crash barriers, tree removal, and line marking, for traffic signs, water-filled traffic barriers, waste disposal, asphalt and geofabric - and any number of other jobs on the 12 kilometre tram line.
Contracts will be let for the construction of seven separate intersections, with the tender documents for those released to the market in March 2017, according to an August schedule. The first six works packages are to be released by the end of next week.
Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris said the works packages were worth up to $75 million.
She also released a construction timetable, which says the main construction work will begin on the Federal Highway and on Flemington Road late this year. It says the main construction will begin on the city terminus early in 2017, and on Northbourne Avenue midway through 2017.
Overhead wires and cabling is also scheduled to begin early next year.
Ms Fitzharris said the Canberra Metro consortium had committed to sourcing 90 per cent of the construction jobs locally. It would take on 60 apprentices and trainees during construction, along with 10 graduate jobs. Another 40 University of NSW work experience placements would be offered during construction.
"This is a huge job-creating construction project for our city, directly and indirectly supporting around 3500 jobs," she said. "This is a real opportunity for local business to provide expertise ... during construction."
Canberra Metro said in May it would employ 200 to 500 construction workers on the $710 million build. It plans to employ at least half directly, rather than through sub-contractors, in a decision that has upset Canberra's civil construction sector.
In July, it signed an enterprise deal with the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union which states a preference for direct employment, leaving open the option of using sub-contractors for supplementary labour in times of peak demand to fill skill shortages and when employees are leave.
The government's environmental impact statement released in June 2015 envisaged standard construction hours of 7am till 6pm Monday to Saturday, with major intersection work, overhead wiring and oversize deliveries done outside standard hours.
It said there would be 60 truck journeys a day in 2017 and 2018, and 860 trees removed.
Key Northbourne intersections - Macarthur/Wakefield; Mouat/Antill; Barry Drive/Cooyong; and Alinga would be closed for major work on weekends, from 10pm Friday till 4am Monday, but adjacent intersections would not be closed on the same weekends. Other intersections to be "sporadically closed" for up to two or four weeks, with diversions.
