Toronto has begun tunnelling for its new subway route. The Ontario Line will connect 15 stops between Exhibition Place, located west of downtown, and the former site of the Ontario Science Centre in North York. The project stretches over 15 kilometres, with more than half of it being underground.
This subway is a collaboration between the city’s Toronto Transit Commission and the provincial Metrolinx transportation agency.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford mentioned in a Facebook post last week that the Ontario Line will create 40 new connections to existing transit routes, “will put nearly 230,000 people” closer to transit options, and will “support 4,700,” new jobs in Ontario.
“The start of tunnelling is a historic milestone for the Ontario Line which, once complete, will help cut travel times for commuters across Toronto by 40 minutes,” Ford said in a press release.
Here’s everything you should know about the Ontario Line.
Beginning Sunday , lanes along sidewalks on west side Don Mills Road from Eglinton Avenue East through St. Dennis Drive won’t be accessible for around five weeks while construction teams set up a new temporary platform. Intersection at Don Mills Road & Gateway Boulevard will see significant effects through May as work begins on a new station.There’s ongoing construction near Moss Park Arena at Queen St. E. & Sherbourne St. in Toronto as of June 2024 where they designated space for big boring machine entry.How did past transit projects go?The TTC opened up Line Five (Eglinton Crosstown LRT) last February.It runs along Eglinton Avenue featuring 25 stations.
Eglinton Crosstown LRT took fifteen years from starting construction causing interruptions among commuters,
When’s it going to be finished?
When the Ontario Line was first introduced back in 2019, Metrolinx predicted it would be done by 2027. Now, however, the transit agency isn’t giving a definite completion date. “We think we’re still trending towards the early 2030s to be done with civil infrastructure,” Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay said during a press conference in February. After that point, there will still need to be testing for the subway line.What’s the cost?
The initial estimate for this line was under $11 billion. The total investment for four major GTA transit projects – including the Scarborough extension, Eglinton Crosstown, Ontario Line, and Yonge North extension – reached $26.8 billion as of May 2021. Metrolinx didn’t provide an update on costs for the Ontario Line. However, a senior government source informed in 2024 that expenses related to just this project had risen to $27.2 billion. The federal government is putting more than $4 billion into this project.How will construction impact traffic?
Construction will result in temporary planned and unplanned road closures along major streets and highways.
Andrew Hope , Metrolinx chief capital officer , noted at a board meeting in February that one lane closure has already occurred on Gardiner Expressway due to this route. Three bridges over Don River are part of this line , and back then , Metrolinx CEO also indicated that construction might close down Don Valley Parkway. “These are formidable works,” Lindsay stated. “If you think about it , we are building Bloor viaduct again three times for this project but these are massive works. We’ll collaborate with all partners to reduce disruptions for people (and) vehicles on DVP.”Beginning Sunday , lanes along sidewalks on west side Don Mills Road from Eglinton Avenue East through St. Dennis Drive won’t be accessible for around five weeks while construction teams set up a new temporary platform. Intersection at Don Mills Road & Gateway Boulevard will see significant effects through May as work begins on a new station.There’s ongoing construction near Moss Park Arena at Queen St. E. & Sherbourne St. in Toronto as of June 2024 where they designated space for big boring machine entry.
