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There is a new rough timeline for when the construction of the light rapid transit project that will connect Mississauga and Brampton will be completed.
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Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay says the Hazel McCallion LRT along Hurontario St. will be fully constructed by the summer of 2027 and testing will begin soon after.
“We hope to have all civil infrastructure on this project complete by roughly this time next year,” Lindsay said Tuesday at an Ontario government announcement touting the completion of tunnelling of the western extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
The previous Liberal government announced the project in August 2017. Construction was anticipated to begin in 2018 with an estimated service date of 2022.
The Hazel McCallion LRT will connect Mississauga with Brampton. Photo by Handout /City of MississaugaProject has faced delays
However, the 18-kilometre transit line has faced a number of delays and is years behind schedule, as construction did not begin until the spring of 2020.
Despite the setbacks, Lindsay said there has been “exciting progress” on the LRT’s construction.
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“We’ve hit every civil infrastructure milestone we set for ourselves over the course of last year,” he said, adding that 75% of the track work is done, guideways are almost completed, and more than half of the 14 traction power substations as well as maintenance and storage facilities are now energized.
Lessons learned from Toronto lines
Lindsay said a recent Metrolinx notice advising the public about vehicle testing this week from the Operation, Maintenance and Storage Facility to Hurontario St. via Edwards Blvd. and Topflight Dr. was due to lessons learned from testing the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch lines before they opened in Toronto.
“(We are) starting system integration testing as fast as we can,” he said. “We know from experience now, at the end of Eglinton and Finch, that that’s an important final phase of testing to make sure services (are) reliable.”
Prabmeet Sarkaria, the provincial transportation minister, said building transit is difficult, but the project is hitting “exciting milestones” as work is being done on weekends to accelerate construction.
‘Game changer for residents’
“We continue to work very closely with our team at Metrolinx and the partners that are on it to deliver this as quickly and efficiently as possible, because we know that this will be a game changer for the residents there,” Sarkaria said.
The LRT will feature 19 stops from the Port Credit GO Station at the south end of the line and all the way north to the Brampton Gateway Terminal at Steeles Ave.
In 2024, the Conservative government announced plans to extend the LRT by building the Mississauga loop and extending the line into downtown Brampton.
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