Ontario Construction News staff writer
Recent upgrades and improvements to Glencairn Station, include a colourful new skylight completed last week. As part of this project, the TTC replaced the leaking skylight and structural supports.
The $11-million construction cost was split between the City/TTC and the Federal government through the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF).
โCanadians rely on public transit every day to get to work, to shop, and for essential services,โ said Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
โThe new skylight and support structure at the Glencairn TTC Station will offer riders a safe and enjoyable experience on their journey. When all levels of government collaborate, our communities benefit from modern and resilient infrastructure.โ
The previous skylight and station roof were installed in 1977 and became prone to leaking over the years. Due to the conditions, the original artwork by artist Rita Letendre, entitled Joy, deteriorated and was eventually removed. The TTC commissioned the artist to reinterpret the original artwork and integrate it into the new skylight using digital technologies.
Original painted art glazing was replaced with art colours sandwiched between two glass panels โ more than 800 in total โ from Germany. The structural steel was also fully replaced by new structural steel, which arrived from a Canadian company based out of Montreal.
โInvestments to our TTC stations is most welcome by our city and one way in which we can continue to improve and upgrade our system and the transit experience for our riders,โ said Toronto Mayor John Tory.
โThe newly installed skylight at Glencairn Station is a great example of what we can accomplish when we work with other levels of government. I want to thank the Federal government for investing with us in our city and the TTC.โ
Two other skylights on the University side of Line 1 at Yorkdale and Eglinton West stations are part of the larger $18.7 million Skylight Program funded under PTIF with the Federal government and City of Toronto both providing matching contributions of almost $9.4 million.
The skylight replacement at Eglinton West Station was completed in 2018 and Yorkdale Station is in its final phase of design with construction scheduled to commence in 2021.
โThis is the perfect example of multiple levels of governments working together for the benefit of the community,โ said TTC Chair Jaye Robinson. โThis is one of many projects weโre currently collaborating on and we look forward to continuing to make much-needed improvements to our transit system with the support of our partners.โ
โProjects like this are only possible when all orders of government work together to maintain and improve our infrastructure,โ said TTC CEO Rick Leary. โI want to thank all our partners for bringing this beautiful and functional work of art back to life.โ