After about a decade of construction, the first part of crosstown is expected to be “virtually complete” later this year.  The 19-kilometer, 25-stop railway line between Kennedy and Mount Dennis is expected to open several months later.
The expansion project, which began today, will continue west along Mount Dennis, with stops in Jane, Scarlett, Royal York, Islington, Kipling, Martin Grove and Renforth.
Representatives from all three levels of government attended the opening on Monday.
“We are shoveling the ground for this historic project and building a world-class transit that will make life easier for the people of GTA, while supporting the creation of thousands of jobs and boosting economic growth for decades to come,” said Premier Doug. Ford.
Mayor John Tory praised the cooperation of various governments to launch the project and said it would be good for the city.
“We know that this transit extension will be good for families, it will be good for jobs, it will be good for investment, it will be good for tourism, it will be good for the environment because there will be off-road cars,” Tori said. .
Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra praised the project, saying its importance to GTA residents “could not be underestimated”.
“This is one of the many investments our government has made in public transportation to connect residents across the GTA and change the way people travel in our community,” he said.
The extension will operate mainly underground.
Rexy and Renny, the two huge tunneling machines at the Renforth launch site, will dig the twin tunnels about six miles below Eglinton West Avenue toward Scarlett Road.
The drilling machines will operate at a depth of about 20 meters and will move about 10 to 15 meters per day.
The construction of the tunnel for the expansion is expected to be completed sometime in 2023 by 2024.
Construction of the mining well on Scarlett Road is expected to begin this spring.
The county says the expansion will support up to 4,600 jobs a year during construction and will attract 37,000 daily walks by 2041.
Metrolinx says it is also working with the Greater Toronto Airport Authority for a possible connection to Toronto Pearson Airport.
Construction of the original $ 5.5 billion Eglinton Crosstown project began under the previous Liberal government a decade ago.  The line was originally scheduled to operate by 2019 or 2020, but encountered several delays in construction.