Massive Mississauga, Brampton LRT transit project named for former mayor Hazel McCallion

The new Mississauga-Brampton Hurontario light rail transit (LRT) system expected to be up and running in 2024 has taken on a very familiar name.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced today (Feb. 14) in Mississauga that, going forward, the massive public transit project/system will be known as the Hazel McCallion Line.

McCallion, who turned 101 today and whose run as Mississauga mayor from 1978 to 2014 turned her into a Canadian political icon, was on hand for the announcement.

“What a great day!” McCallion told the gathering at a Mississauga GO station. “I couldn’t believe when the Premier told me they’d be naming this line after me…I’ve had many things named after me, but this is so unique.

“It’s going to be such an asset to the city.”

McCallion added she remembers vividly talking to the provincial government of the day about the need for a Hurontario LRT system.

“I said (at the time) that you paid for one in Toronto, now you have to pay for the next one in Mississauga,” McCallion recalled.

Former Mississauga mayor, Hazel McCallion, has had a major transit project named in her honour.

Mississauga’s former mayor suggested that the only drawback of the 18-kilometre, Port Credit-to-Brampton LRT is that it will take northbound riders only as far as the south of Brampton.

“One of these days it (should) be extended all the way through Brampton,” McCallion said.

Mississauga’s current mayor was also on hand to help mark the re-naming of the Hurontario LRT, which when completed in fall 2024 will take passengers from south Mississauga to Brampton with 19 stops along the way.

Mayor Bonnie Crombie, and the City of Mississauga, received a bit of a gift as well today related to the project.

In unveiling the Hazel McCallion Line, Ford voiced support for once again including a City Centre loop in the huge project.

The loop, initially included in Hurontario LRT plans to service residents/passengers who live in the highrises around Square One, was pulled off the table two years ago by the Ontario government in a cost-cutting move.  

Crombie and City councillors have been pressing the Province ever since to reconsider, arguing the area’s population is growing quickly and will need more convenient transit service both in the short- and long-term. 

In an interview three weeks ago with insauga.com, Ford said he’s open to reconsidering, but not without contributions from elsewhere–specifically, developers.

Meanwhile, crews continue to work throughout the winter on the LRT line. They’ll be especially busy in the coming months, the project coordinator notes, as key work is being completed in south Mississauga.

Work crews will focus on “push” work at the southernmost point of the Hurontario LRT route. As the lone underground stop among 19 stops along the line, Port Credit GO saw a significant amount of prep work in 2021.

In total, work crews removed 36,000 cubic metres of earth from the Port Credit site in preparation for a tunnel to be built under the rail tracks and the station itself.

Then, work on the “push box”–the elaborate tunneling system needed to tunnel under the tracks–was started, the huge hole was dug, concrete slabs were poured and a “thrust block” was built.

Now, the next step is to push the tunneling system through and lay the new tracks, project officials say, adding the actual “push” will take place in the coming months.

Work has taken place at nearly all points along the LRT route to date, but many residents may not have even noticed.

“If you don’t live near Hurontario St., you may not realize construction (on the LRT) is already well underway,” say officials with Metrolinx, adding 2021 “was a big year for the project, and 2022 is going to be even more significant.”

Metrolinx is the provincial agency overseeing the massive transit project.

The Port Credit GO site isn’t the only place along the route getting prepped for “push” work this year.

Crews will start working on a second “push box” in 2022 at Hurontario St. and the QEW.

Metrolinx says that work will create a new northbound underpass to allow the light rail vehicles (LRVs) to travel underneath the QEW.

Other work on the Hurontario LRT expected to take place in 2022 includes:

• efforts to further protect the 100-year-old Mary Fix Creek in central Mississauga. Work crews will be upgrading the nearby landscape to preserve the creek and nearby communities, and doing work to reduce the potential for flooding
• existing bridges at Port Credit GO station are being replaced
• the Operations and Maintenance Storage Facility near the Mississauga-Brampton border, to be the hub of the new line, will have LRT tracks laid as it nears completion (facility will house a repair shop, storage area and rail vehicle cleaning services)
• construction of the Hwy. 403 flyover will begin. This involves building a bridge or overpass that crosses over the 403. This will help improve traffic flow by separating the LRT from regular vehicle and bus traffic at one of Mississauga’s busiest interchanges. Will also allow LRT riders to access bus connections on Rathburn Rd.
• crews will begin laying the first set of tracks for the LRT in north Mississauga

When completed, the Hurontario LRT–Hazel McCallion Line–will link to GO stations at Port Credit and Cooksville, the Mississauga Transitway, Square One GO Bus Terminal, Brampton Gateway Terminal, and key MiWay and Brampton Transit routes. 

The initiative is part of Metrolinx’s long-term vision for an integrated, sustainable transit network connecting the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas.