Two major Mississauga light rail transit lines on track and on time, project leader says

The two major light rail transit (LRT) routes being built in Mississauga are moving along smoothly and expected to be completed on time, officials in charge of the huge projects say.

With recent word and controversy in Toronto that the Eglinton Crosstown LRT project there is behind schedule and without explanation for the missed deadline this fall, Mississauga residents were wondering if that meant the Mississauga component of the undertaking would also be finished late.

But officials with Metrolinx, the provincial agency overseeing the major transit projects, told insauga.com via email on Friday (Dec. 16) that the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE) still has a target completion date of 2030-31.

In a statement released at the end of September, Metrolinx said construction and testing for the Toronto LRT project wouldn’t be completed on time, but wouldn’t say why or provide a revised opening date.

The ECWE, on the other hand, remains on schedule, although its completion date is still about eight years away.

When completed, that route will further link Mississauga and Toronto and is expected to extend to Pearson Airport as well.

At the moment, two huge tunnel-digging machines are busy clearing underground paths in which the LRT trains will eventually travel part of the 9.2-kilometre route.

Shipped from Germany last December, the tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) will carve out a significant portion of the ECWE that, when completed, will bring the Eglinton Crosstown LRT from Toronto west to Renforth Dr. in east Mississauga by 2030-31.

A proposal to extend the ECWE an additional 4.7 kilometres from Renforth Dr. to Pearson Airport in Mississauga is also being strongly considered.

Tunnel work for the ECWE is expected to take about 20 months, according to Metrolinx, with the TBMs travelling eastward at a rate of 10 to 15 metres per day.

When finished, the ECWE will operate underground from Renforth Dr. in Mississauga to just west of Scarlett Rd. in Toronto, where it will then transition to a 1.5-km elevated section that runs east of Jane St. before heading underground again and connecting to the future Mount Dennis Station.

Rendering shows what the Hazel McCallion Line LRT trains will look like when the project is completed in fall 2024. (Image: Metrolinx)

Meanwhile, the Hazel McCallion Line, to run along Hurontario St. between Port Credit in south Mississauga and Brampton, remains on target for a fall 2024 opening.

“The Hazel McCallion LRT is tracking for completion in 2024,” a Metrolinx official said in the email to insauga.com.

When it’s completed, the $1.4-billion Hurontario line will run 18 kilometres and make 19 stops between the two Peel cities.

Key portions of the Hazel McCallion Line are taking shape in recent weeks with work being done in and around Mississauga’s downtown core and the Hwy. 403/Hurontario St. area.

If City of Mississauga officials get what they want, the “transit loop” that would serve people living in highrises in the city’s downtown core will once again be part of the massive project.

It was dropped from plans three years ago by the provincial government in a cost-cutting move.