First tracks to be laid on major section of $1.4-billion Mississauga-Brampton transit line
Published August 25, 2022 at 11:33 am
Starting this Sunday (Aug. 28), drivers on Hurontario St. in Mississauga and Brampton will be faced with a series of rolling partial intersection closures as the first tracks on the main section of a $1.4-billion light rail transit (LRT) route will be laid.
The tracks “will be laid along the centre of Hurontario St., where construction will occur at every other intersection to allow for detours,” officials with Metrolinx, the provincial agency overseeing the huge Hazel McCallion LRT project, said in a news release today (Aug. 25). “This is a key sign of progress for the 18-kilometre rapid transit line.”
Project leaders note that while the first tracks were actually laid earlier this year at the route’s Operations, Maintenance and Storage Facility on the Mississauga-Brampton border, “…this is the first track installation along the LRT guideway where the light rail vehicles will run on Hurontario St.”
The ongoing partial intersection closures will restrict drivers from turning left in both directions while driving along Hurontario St.
“With this approach, the track installations can occur quickly and more efficiently with less impact overall,” Metrolinx officials say. “Once the track is laid, the intersections will reopen with no more than two consecutive intersections being closed at the same time.”
(Image: Metrolinx)
Work begins on Aug. 28 at the intersection of Hurontario St. and Milverton Dr./Watline Ave. (just north of Matheson Blvd.) and will continue until Sept. 16.
Additionally, project leaders say, the Hurontario St. and Sandstone Dr./Brunel Rd. intersection (just south of Britannia Rd.) will be partially closed from Sept. 6 until Sept. 28.
Metrolinx says work at both intersections is expected to be completed by October.
Track installation will also be ongoing on Hurontario St. at Aldridge St./Traders Blvd. and Matheson Blvd.
Recent work on the 18-kilometre Hazel McCallion LRT, which is to be completed by fall 2024, has also focused on a section of 100-year-old Mary Fix Creek near Port Credit GO station in south Mississauga.
Port Credit GO is the starting point of the LRT route, which when up and running will make 19 stops between south Mississauga and Brampton. It will connect to major transit systems including GO Transit (Milton and Lakeshore West Lines), the Mississauga Transitway, Brampton Transit, ZUM and MiWay.
Meanwhile, City of Mississauga officials are still aggressively pushing for reinstatement of initial plans to create an “LRT loop” that would more directly and conveniently serve condo residents and office workers in the city’s downtown core around Square One.
