Business and community groups have expressed strong support for light rail being extended to Russell, although final bids for the extension are yet to be received, according to Greens minister Shane Rattenbury.
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Thousands of documents were delivered to the Capital Metro office on Friday as the government accepted bids for the $783 million Gungahlin to Civic contract from two consortiums.
But consortiums have another four weeks to deliver their proposals for the Russell extension along Constitution Avenue, which is already in the midst of a $48.8 million upgrade.
With three passenger stops, the proposed extension to Russell could increase daily passenger trips by as much as 5600 or 30 per cent. The extension would increase the cost of the public private partnership project.
"We have received a lot of support for that section taking into things like the convention centre, the Canberra Institute of Technology and the Defence and ASIO headquarters," Mr Rattenbury said.
"It reflects the fact that people in Canberra see the opportunities of light rail and they are keen to get it to their part of town as soon as possible."
Mr Rattenbury said the continuing roadworks in Constitution Avenue had been modified to allow for the possibility of light rail and would not need to be replaced in coming years.
"The government has taken the approach of saying we are interested in what it would cost and we would need to make an overall decision on affordability and value for money in terms of the project," he said.
"[We] will make a decision on whether the additional section at Constitution Avenue will be added as part of the overall contract negotiations."
Capital Metro project director Emma Thomas said the agency would make a recommendation on the contractor of choice in early 2016, although she would not second-guess government intentions.
One of the consortiums bidding for the job, Activate, is understood to have almost 100 staff working from a Moore Street office in Canberra. The other, Canberra Metro, is working from an office in Sydney.
Canberra Metro is led by Leighton subsidiary Pacific Partnerships and includes Mitsubishi and John Holland, and German firm DB International GmbH
Activate is led by Downer EDI and includes train-building company Bombardier and Keolis Downer, which operates the new Gold Coast tram and Melbourne's tram network.
"We will provide a recommendation to the government early next year but until we start a detailed evaluation we won't have an idea of a set date," Ms Thomas said.
Mr Rattenbury said the roadworks in Constitution Avenue were likely to be completed by mid-2016, with Vernon Circle now included in redevelopment plans.
"It's a new feature and that will mean traffic can now access Vernon Circle from the east side of the city, and a new set of traffic lights will go in there to enable that access," he said.
"In the first 12 months, there has been a lot of work under the ground and people would have been wondering what's been happening.
Constitution Avenue has been a construction site since March 2014 as part of works funded by the ACT government with a $42 million contribution from the Abbott government to mark Canberra's centenary in 2013.
An additional $2.8 million was provided by the ACT government for the Vernon Circle connection.
The works are also expected to improve access to the Legislative Assembly and the Canberra Theatre car parks.
Mr Rattenbury said 30 mature trees had already been planted in Constitution Avenue, with 200 English oaks and pencil pines included in final plans.
A row of crepe myrtles will be added to the southern verge. The species was chosen for its visual appearance and structural nature, suited to narrow alignments.
