When will the light-rail transit line be completed in Mississauga and Brampton?

Project leaders behind a $4.6-billion Mississauga-to-Brampton light-rail transit line say they’ve recently made “major construction progress” as the massive project moves forward, but they won’t yet say when the Hazel McCallion Line will open to its first passengers.

While it’s possible — perhaps likely — the 22-kilometre LRT line will be completed sometime in 2025, the provincial agency in charge of the transit project isn’t providing any time frame for completion.

“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,” a Metrolinx spokesperson said in an email to INsauga.com on Tuesday.

“There has been major construction progress across the entire project recently despite issues early on due to COVID-19, supply chain availability and labour disruption,” the spokesperson continued, adding “… track work has been completed at 30 of 55 intersections along the corridor, with six out of 18 stops having been constructed. Preparations are also underway for the upcoming delivery of the Light Rail Vehicles at our Operations, Maintenance and Storage Facility.”

The Operations, Maintenance and Storage Facility has been described by project leaders as the “nerve centre” of the Hazel McCallion Line, which will run along Hurontario Street from south Mississauga to Brampton.

Located just south of Highway 407 on the Mississauga-Brampton border, the facility will serve as the hub of the LRT route, officials said earlier. The huge operations and maintenance site will house a repair shop, a vehicle cleaning facility and material storage space and will be able to accommodate 42 light-rail vehicles at a time.

In a recent project development, Metrolinx noted work completed on a section of Mary Fix Creek by Port Credit GO station, the starting point of the LRT, will help prevent flooding in south Mississauga for years to come.

When completed, the Hazel McCallion Line will run some 22 kilometres along Hurontario Street, starting at Port Credit GO just north of the lake in Mississauga and running north into Brampton with some two dozen stops along the way.

A handful of those stops will be in Mississauga’s downtown core by Square One Shopping Centre since plans for the “downtown loop” were restored earlier this year.