The Province of Ontario says tunnelling for the Ontario Line through downtown Toronto has officially begun as of Thursday.
Forty metres below the surface, twin tunnels are to be dug by two boring machines from Exhibition Station toward the Don Yard, near the Don Valley Parkway and Lakeshore Boulevard. Trains will emerge from the tunnels at Don yard and continue east above ground.
The tunneling will be conducted in phases – the first boring machine will dig the eastbound track, followed by the second, which will dig the westbound track.
Major construction also continues at Exhibition station, which will connect commuters to GO Transit and connect to Exhibition Place as well as provide subway service to Liberty Village. It’s estimated that during rush hour, the station will serve 12,000 people daily.
While the Province has not committed to a firm opening date yet, in a press release, they say “major progress” is being made at several other downtown stations, which have been named to “that better reflect well-known Toronto neighbourhoods.”
Excavation is complete at King West near King and Bathurst, Distillery District in Corktown and Moss Park. Excavation at the station at Queen and Spadina, named Chinatown station, is nearly complete as well.
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“The Ontario Line will support almost 390,000 daily boardings and reduce travel times from Thorncliffe Park to downtown Toronto from 40 to 25 minutes,” says the Province’s release. They also estimate that during peak times, the Line will help reduce crowding between Bloor-Yonge and Wellesley stations on the TTC’s Line 1 by 15 per cent.
The Ontario Line will run from Exhibition Place to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don mills Road. It will span 15.6 kilometres with 15 stations.