Ontario construction News staff writer
What are some of the largest upcoming Ontario construction projects?
Databid.com compiled this list, including initiatives at different stages of development, either currently in the pre-design or schematic design stage. They have an overall value of close to $23 billion, clearly representing huge opportunities for a diversity of subtrades, suppliers and consultants.
Below, in order of projected value, are four of Ontario’s largest projects.
- Ontario Line – Transit Expansion – Infrastructure Ontario
This project is located in Toronto and is currently in pre-design. Project value is estimated at $11 billion.
According to CBC News, the Ontario Line will include a new 15-kilometre line stretching from Ontario Place to the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. This is meant to replace the proposed downtown relief subway line and will double the length of what the City of Toronto had envisioned earlier.
The proposed light rail line will run mostly underground with the potential for an elevated track along certain portions of the route, like crossing the Don River. The project is expected to be finished in 2029 or earlier and will include the possibility of driverless trains.
- Yonge Subway Extension (YSE) North – TTC
This project is located in Toronto and is currently in schematic design. Project value is estimated at $5 billion.
According to Global News, the Yonge Subway Extension would be 7.4 km and will connect Toronto to Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill.
This project will reduce commute times and relieve traffic congestion for commuters. It will complete a critical missing link in the regional rapid transit system of the GTHA, making an easy and seamless connection between regions. This aligns with plans for growth and rapid transit and will integrate with the GO Expansion with the objective of providing a transportation hub at Yonge and Highway 7.
- Scarborough Subway Extension – Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)
This project is located in Toronto and is currently in pre-design. Project value is estimated at $3.9 billion.
Per BlogTo, the subway will run from Kennedy station to a terminus station on Sheppard Avenue East but there are no concrete details as to when work on the subway will begin as there have been a great deal of disagreements between the TTC and provincial government.
The Scarborough subway isn’t expected to be built until at least 2029 or 2030, leaving only buses as a means of public transit for at least three years.
- Union Park – Oxford Properties
This project is located in Toronto and is currently in the schematic design stage. Project value is estimated at $3.5 billion.
According to Toronto Life, Union Park will be a massive 4.3 million sq. ft. development which will be the largest in Toronto’s history.
The plan consists of four towers just north of Rogers Centre and the CN tower. Two of the towers, at 58 and 48 storeys tall, will have office space inside. The other two, at 54 and 44 storeys, will have about 800 rental units, an integrated daycare and 200,000 sq. ft. of retail space.
Oxford Properties also plans to permanently alter part of the railway corridor north of the CN Tower. Plans call for building a deck over the tracks and then on top of the decking, install a new two-acre park.