Major LRT project in Mississauga presents its plan to the public

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Published June 12, 2023 at 1:16 pm

Image shows a rendering of what will be the platform of the Cooksville stop along the Hazel McCallion Line. (Image: Metrolinx)

The $1.4-billion Hurontario St. light-rail transit (LRT) route that will run from south Mississauga into Brampton is on track to open to passengers in fall 2024, project leaders say.

Metrolinx officials overseeing the Hazel McCallion Line, as the 19-stop route will be known, identified that late 2024 completion date at the outset of construction some three years ago and they say nothing has changed to alter the deadline.

Metrolinx is the provincial agency in charge of the massive transit project and officials there will provide members of the public with even more information at a live virtual open house this Thursday evening (June 15) from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

“Metrolinx project experts will make a brief presentation providing an update on the project, major milestones, bike infrastructure and community engagement,” project leaders say.

The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session between members of the public and project officials.

Those interested in participating in the open house must register to then receive a link to the live stream of the session. Questions may be submitted online ahead of time or during the live presentation.

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Any questions that are not answered during the live session will be responded to within 14 business days, officials say.

Meanwhile, tracks were laid several weeks ago on a busy section of Hurontario St. as work continued on the LRT route.

The laying of tracks on Hurontario St. near Derry Rd. also caused lane reductions and other traffic restrictions scheduled to remain in effect until June 13 as the installation work continues.

When completed, the 18-kilometre Hazel McCallion Line will whisk riders along Hurontario St. between Port Credit GO station in Mississauga’s south end and Brampton.

The LRT line will also hook up with various other transit services including GO, MiWay and Brampton Transit.

Hurontario LRT mapAs work continues, City of Mississauga officials continue to push for cash and a commitment from the provincial government to reinstate plans for a Downtown Loop that would take the LRT into the Square One area and farther west to serve all the existing and planned condos and businesses.

Mayor Bonnie Crombie recently told insauga.com she won’t let Ontario Premier Doug Ford forget about his earlier public commitment to supporting the downtown transit loop.

Crombie said the loop, which was axed from the larger project three years ago in a cost-cutting move by the Ford government, is badly needed to serve Mississauga’s rapidly growing downtown core.

Mississauga officials say money from the provincial government and Ottawa, too, if possible, is needed to get the loop built.

An earlier suggestion from Ford that Mississauga hit up developers for cash is likely a dead end, the City has said.

Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, also MP for Mississauga Centre, has told insauga.com on several occasions that Ottawa is willing to come to the table to help pay for the loop.

Some estimates indicate it will cost up to $400 million to add the loop to the LRT project and that was before plans to make it larger. That amount is expected to rise significantly as time goes by and construction costs rise.

Mississauga believes that money will be well spent on a downtown population that is expected to double in the next 30 years and will need ways to move across the city and the rest of the GTA.

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