Ontario Construction News staff writer
Last year was big for transit construction in Ontario, with several projects starting, contracts being awarded and milestones being reached – including the Hazel McCallion line which will run between Mississauga and Brampton.
Here are some highlights of work in 2022:
Work at the operations, maintenance and storage facility (OMSF), the hub of the new line includes a repair shop, vehicle cleaning facility, material storage, and capacity for 42 light rail vehicles. Most of this construction is now complete.
In preparation for track installation, guideway construction took place from Matheson Boulevard to Britannia Road.
Track work was completed at several locations, including Hurontario Street and Sandstone Drive/ Brunel Road, Milverton Drive/ Watline Avenue and Aldridge Street/Traders Boulevard, as well as most of the mid-blocks. Work will continue throughout the new year.
Over a single weekend in November, construction crews installed a new underpass under the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) at Hurontario Street. The process involved using hydraulic jacks to push a push box weighing more than 6,000 tonnes into place – a first in Ontario.
The QEW push box will be the permanent underpass for northbound Hurontario traffic, allowing space for the Hazel McCallion Line tracks through the existing underpass along with the southbound Hurontario traffic.
Time-lapse cameras were used to capture real-time updates from start to finish of the push. Check out the real time footage below.
After more than a year of preparatory work, crews building the Hazel McCallion line started the official push of a large concrete structure, or push box, underneath the Lakeshore West rail tracks at the Port Credit GO Station using the groundbreaking Verona System in a very first on Canadian soil.
This push box will be used as a new passageway under the rail tracks, allowing the future Hazel McCallion line to enter and exit Port Credit GO Station without disrupting rail service on the tracks above.
The Hazel McCallion Line will also include a new flyover bridge to allow the line to cross Highway 403 – a structure that create a route for the LRT over the 403, minimizing disruptions to vehicle traffic. Support columns, abutments and caps are being installed now, and the first girders of the new bridge are being put into place.