Major LRT route takes shape in Mississauga, but first passengers must wait a while for a ride

Project leaders say “exciting progress” has been made in construction of the starting point for the $4.6-billion Hazel McCallion Line, a 22-kilometre Mississauga-to-Brampton light-rail transit route that’ll whisk riders between Peel’s two cities when completed.

Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency in charge of the massive LRT project, said work on what will be an underground station at Port Credit GO in Mississauga’s south end is moving forward as crews aim to finish the job on schedule.

“The future southern terminus of the Hazel McCallion Line is taking shape,” project leaders said in a recent post to social media. “This station will connect riders to GO Transit nearby.”

The future south Mississauga station has been described by project officials as a “pivotal” part of the LRT route, which will run along Hurontario Street from Port Credit GO all the way north into Brampton.

Work continues on the Port Credit GO segment of the Hazel McCallion Line.

Work on the Port Credit LRT station began shortly after initial preparation work was completed late in 2023.

Using a “revolutionary engineering method” known as the Verona System, crews working on the Port Credit GO segment of the line pushed a massive concrete passageway (push box) under the Lakeshore West rail tracks in summer 2023 to create the tunnel through which future light-rail vehicles will travel into and out of the station.

The new tunnel will separate northbound and southbound LRT vehicle traffic when the Hazel McCallion Line opens to the public.

Though Metrolinx has not set a completion date, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish told INsauga.com in late October she’s not expecting the new LRT route to open until 2026.

The project’s initial completion target was fall 2024.

“And I’m not worried about it because every single LRT that’s been built has been late,” Parrish told INsauga.com during an interview at city hall. “I think it’s one of those optimistic views (where you’re) going to have it done (on schedule) if everything goes perfectly smoothly, but it never does.

Ongoing work at Port Credit GO.

“You’re going down a main thoroughfare, a spine for our city,” Parrish noted of the transit route, which will feature nearly two dozen stops between Port Credit and Brampton. “You’ve got wires under there, you’ve got phone stuff, you’ve got pipes, you’ve got everything; so every time you touch the earth around a major street like that, you find things you didn’t know were going to be a problem.”

Metrolinx has not yet committed to a completion date for the Hazel McCallion Line. The agency has told INsauga.com on two occasions since September that “when construction nears completion and we move into the testing and commissioning phase, we will be in a better position to provide a specific opening date.”

Rendering shows what part of the Hazel McCallion Line will look like once it opens to passengers.

Stops along the Hazel McCallion Line. (All images: Metrolinx)