$24 million boost means Pearson Airport in Mississauga will connect with major transit route

Linking Pearson Airport in Mississauga with a major light rail transit (LRT) route in the city’s east end and Toronto is another step closer to reality with word the Ontario government is setting aside $24.4 million for the proposal.

In advance of the provincial government’s latest budget announcement, expected later today (April 28), Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney tweeted Wednesday that the money will be used to help link the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE) with Canada’s largest and busiest airport.

“Proud to share that our government is investing $24.4 million to advance planning and design work to connect the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension” to Pearson Airport, Mulroney posted on Twitter.

Responding to the funding commitment from the Province, Pearson Airport officials applauded the cash, tweeting, in part, that “connecting the Eglinton Crosstown to Canada’s largest airport and second-largest employment zone will help move passengers, employees and critical goods and is an important part of Ontario’s economic recovery.”

The Ontario money comes after the federal government stepped up to the plate in support of the proposed Pearson Airport ECWE link last month.

Included in Ottawa’s $142 million commitment for critical infrastructure work at the airport is an amount to be used for design work for the proposed connection with the ECWE.

Two weeks ago, airport and government officials gathered in east Mississauga to mark the start of tunneling for the ECWE, a 9.2-kilometre extension that will bring the Eglinton Crosstown LRT from Toronto west to Renforth Dr. in Mississauga by 2030-31.

The Pearson proposal would extend the route an additional 4.7 kilometres from Renforth Dr. to the airport.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which runs Pearson, has been working with Metrolinx, the Ontario agency in charge of the ECWE project, on the proposed extension. 

GTAA officials say such an extension is crucial to moving millions of people around on transit more quickly in the coming decades.

When finished, the ECWE will operate underground from Renforth Dr. in Mississauga to just west of Scarlett Rd. in Toronto, where it will then transition to a 1.5-km elevated section that runs east of Jane St. before heading underground again and connecting to the future Mount Dennis Station.