Ontario Construction News staff writer
Ontario has broken ground on the Queen Station of the Ontario Line, a $27 billion,15.6-km subway in Toronto that will run from Exhibition Place, through downtown, to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road.
With crews beginning the excavation of more than 100,000 cubic metres of dirt and rock, the new Ontario Line platform at the station will be built 40 metres below street level, directly beneath the existing TTC Queen Station. It will be the busiest stop on the Ontario Line, serving more than 15,000 riders during peak hours, Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria said in a statement.
With estimated completion in 2031, the Ontario Line will have 15 stations and offer more than 40 connections to other subway, bus, streetcar and regional train services. It will bring 227,500 more people within walking distance of transit and reduce daily car trips by at least 28,000, the statement says. The project is being delivered through public private partnerships.
“We need to get Toronto moving for drivers, pedestrians and public transit users. The Ontario Line is a vital new public transit option that will alleviate congestion and help hundreds of thousands of Torontonians get to their destination faster,” said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. “We are partnering together with the province to give riders better public transit options.”
The Ontario Line project is part of a $60 billion provincial investment in transit expansion. The line is one of four major subway projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, along with the Scarborough Subway Extension, the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, and the Yonge North Subway Extension.
