Delays at busy intersection will last longer than expected in Mississauga

Drivers, pedestrians and businesses must deal with traffic delays and other disruptions for a little while longer at a busy Mississauga intersection near Square One Shopping Centre as ongoing construction has been extended.

Lane closures and other temporary restrictions put in place on July 11 at Hurontario Street and Burnhamthorpe Road — to the southeast of Square One and among the city’s busiest intersections — were expected to be lifted and the lanes reopened last Thursday night.

However, work on that part of the $4.6-billion Hazel McCallion light-rail transit line has been delayed and traffic restrictions won’t be lifted until Oct. 3, project leaders told INsauga.com.

“Due to inclement weather, the opening date for the Hurontario Street and Burnhamthorpe Road intersection has been shifted (to Oct. 3),” a spokesperson for Metrolinx, the provincial agency in charge of the massive transit project, said in an email.

In July, Metrolinx officials said motorists, businesses and area residents could expect temporary lane closures, restricted turning areas, added noise and other disruptions at that busy intersection (see map below) for a couple of months.

Map shows work area at Hurontario Street and Burnhamthorpe Road (Image: Metrolinx)

Ongoing traffic and other disruptions around Square One are necessary as crews complete work on the 22-kilometre Mississauga-to-Brampton LRT route that will whisk passengers from Port Credit GO in south Mississauga north into Brampton along Hurontario Street when it opens, likely sometime in 2025.

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The latest tasks crews have been working on involve the welding of tracks and completing concrete work for installation of the guideway that will carry the trains.

In a nod to Mississauga’s former and late iconic mayor, the provincial government early in 2022 dubbed the route the Hazel McCallion Line.

Similar work on other sections of Hurontario Street in both Mississauga and Brampton has been carried out over the past year or so and will continue for the rest of 2024 and into next year as crews work to get the Hazel McCallion Line finished..

When completed, the LRT route will feature more than 20 stops along the route, including several in Mississauga’s downtown core by Square One.

Metrolinx received the go-ahead from the province in early February to extend the LRT line by three or four kilometres into downtown Brampton and reintroduce the “downtown loop” to the City Centre area of Mississauga. The latter component will add several stops to the route.