GTA Construction News staff writer
North End Connectors has been awarded a $1.4-billion contract to design and build the twin tunnels for the Yonge North Subway Extension, a project that is expected to create about 4,300 jobs during each year of construction.
“The Yonge North Subway Extension is a critical part of our $70 billion investment to build public transit in communities across Ontario,” said Premier Doug Ford. “As we get shovels in the ground on this critical project, we’re helping keep thousands of workers on the job and we’re building the infrastructure that will boost Ontario’s economy and help thousands of York Region commuters get where they need to go faster and more conveniently.”
The contract includes designing and constructing the extension’s tunnels, early works construction of support headwalls for future stations and emergency exit buildings. Once complete, the Yonge North Subway Extension will accommodate over 90,000 daily trips.
Following completion of the design, major tunnelling will begin along with a separate procurement to build the extension’s stations, rail and systems. With recent upgrades at Finch Station now complete to make it easier to connect the existing Line 1 service to the future subway extension, other preparatory work such as utility relocations are now underway.
“Infrastructure Ontario is proud to be a part of making the Yonge North Subway Extension a reality with the contract award for the Advance Tunnel portion of this crucial transit project,” said Angela Clayton, president and CEO at Infrastructure Ontario. “This subway extension, connecting Toronto and York Region and travelling through the cities of Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Markham and Toronto, will support a connected GTA with fast and efficient transit.”
The Yonge North Subway Extension will put 26,000 more people within a 10-minute walk of transit and will reduce daily travel times by up to 22 minutes on a trip from Markham to downtown Toronto, getting commuters where they need to go faster.
Ontario’s $70-billion transit plan for the Greater Toronto Area — which includes the all-new Ontario Line, the Scarborough Subway Extension, the Yonge North Subway Extension and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension — is the largest transit investment in North America.
The Government of Canada is contributing $2.24 billion.
“With this contract award, we are setting the stage for major construction on the Yonge North Subway Extension,” said Michael Lindsay, President and CEO, Metrolinx. “This project will extend TTC Line 1 subway service further north into York Region and create connections to the GO and Viva transit networks. That means faster, more convenient travel — and less traffic on busy roadways all over the region.”
