Massive Mississauga-to-Brampton light rail transit system one step closer to reality

The massive Hurontario light rail transit (LRT) system in Mississauga is one step closer to carrying its first passengers with the recent completion of a key part of the project. 

A huge concrete platform (900 cubic metres of concrete), or launch slab, is now ready to support what’s known as the “push box” that will help create a tunnel underneath the Lakeshore West Corridor railway tracks at Port Credit GO station, the southernmost point of the 18-kilometre LRT. 

Work on the “push box” structure, a large, hollow concrete box that will shape the tunnel, is well underway and scheduled to finish in the next three months, according to work crews. 

It’s a complicated process, but officials with Metrolinx, the agency responsible for public transit projects across the Golden Horseshoe, say the “innovative method” is a time-saver and will not disrupt Mississauga GO train service.  

The launch slab is one-third of a metre thick, 23 metres wide and 53 metres in length. It has a “thrust block” at its southern end that will be used for leverage to push the concrete box into place. 

When completed in fall 2024, the 19-stop LRT route will carry passengers from Port Credit GO station in the south end of the city north to Brampton. 

It will offer a dedicated right-of-way running from south Mississauga to Brampton Gateway Terminal. It 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.  

Officials say the LRT will be a critical link for residents and businesses in the area as one-quarter of Mississauga’s employment and residents is expected to be along the Hurontario corridor in the next two decades.   

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