| Metrolinx – Views from the Sky
Seeing is believing – from above. With station construction well underway along the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line, residents and commuters see the construction hoarding and fencing at street level every day. To give everyone an opportunity to see the progress behind the fences, Crosslinx will be flying the corridor every couple of months. Seeing is believing. Check out our first Eglinton Crosstown LRT fly over video to see clearly the largest transit expansion in Toronto history from above! |
Construction Works at Eglinton Station
- Over the week of April 10th, the second TBM, Humber, was successfully extracted from 20 metres below Eglinton. Take a look at the video capturing the community’s reactions and thoughts about the TBM lift! Now that the big pieces of the tunnel boring machines have been extracted, you’ll notice that the extraction site is still occupying the roadway and cranes are still in the work site. There is some more debris and small parts to be removed, which will be completed over the next several weeks. An update about the extraction shaft will be provided soon!
- On to the next contract concerning station build work, crews have begun some Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) work for Eglinton Station. This work began in early April will continue for approximately 4-6 weeks. SUE work entails crews drilling boreholes and the use of a vaccum truck to investigate where utilities are located underground for future relocation. The vacuum truck can be quite noisy, but each borehole will take approximately 1-3 days to complete, so please be aware that any noise or disruption will be short-term.
- Stage two utility relocation work has also begun for Eglinton Station as of mid-April and is taking place closer to the intersection of Yonge and Eglinton. Because of this, the north-south crosswalk on the east side of Yonge Street has been closed . In addition, the east-west crosswalk on the north side of Eglinton has also been closed, but a temporary crosswalk has been installed north of Eglinton Avenue on Yonge Street to allow for safe pedestrian crossing. This phase of utility work is expected to last until approximately early June.
- Some overnight work has begun near Eglinton Station. This is for the demolition of the former TTC bus depot located near the south west corner of Eglinton and Yonge, between Yonge Street and Duplex Avenue. This work must occur overnight because the demolition will take place very close to the emergency exit for pedestrians for the subway, and so the demolition must be done when the tunnel is closed in the overnight period. Work began on April 25th and since there are only the last few bus platforms that need to be demolished, this overnight work is expected to occur for only a period of up to two weeks.
- Lastly, shoring work is expected to begin soon! Shoring work, otherwise known as, support of excavation, will begin as early as the beginning of May. Since the phase two utility work is going on concurrently and within the intersection, shoring work will begin in the former Salvation Army Church property at 7 Eglinton Avenue East, and will eventually move into the right-of-way when stage two utility relocation work is complete. The shoring work is expected to last for approximately 6-8 months and will require the closure of two additional crosswalks at the Yonge-Eglinton intersection. Please see the map below, which shows the lane occupancy for drivers as well as the crosswalk closures for pedestrians. We understand that crosswalk closures at such a busy intersection may be inconvenient for folks, but this is done in the interest of safety. We ask that drivers act courteously, and pedestrians allow for extra travel time to get around and do not jay-walk. Also, for everyone to be considerate of those who have accessibility needs who are also navigating around in the large crowds.
- Please also note that although the north sidewalk on Eglinton Avenue, east of Yonge Street is currently closed, the sidewalk will re-open next week which will allow for easier flow of movement on the north side of Eglinton Avenue East when the shoring traffic patterns are implemented.
