Ontario premier says construction underway on new Toronto subway line
CBC
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the provincial government has begun construction on a new subway project in Toronto that will cut through the heart of the city.
Ford said the 15.6 kilometre Ontario Line, with 14 subway stops, is designed to provide relief from overcrowding on Toronto Transit Commission's Line 1 and is an important part of his government's plan to build roads, bridges, highways and transit.
"For decades, governments of every stripe have been talking about the need for new subways in the GTA. They've been studying it forever. There have been endless reports, endless committees, but finally, we're the government that got it done," Ford said at the site of the future Exhibition station.
Ford said the government first announced the plan for Ontario Line in 2019. According to Ford, the Ontario Line will expand existing TTC subway system by 50 per cent.
"The Ontario Line will be an absolute game changer for the city and we're moving forward without no delay," he said.
Ford added that the government cannot afford to return to the "politics of no" and instead is saying yes to building public transit.
The new subway will begin near Ontario Place south of Exhibition Place, move through the downtown core and end at the Ontario Science Centre in North York.
The line will connect with 40 other transit routes, including GO train lines, TTC subway and streetcar stops and a new east-west light rail line, the Eglinton Crosstown, that is currently being built.
Toronto Mayor John Tory, along with and Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney and federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, joined Ford at the official ground-breaking ceremony in Toronto.
"This is an exciting project," Tory said. "Here we are today, actually breaking ground. The construction is happening. The sooner you build it, the sooner people will be able to ride it."
Tory said the Ontario Line will particularly reduce congestion at the Bloor-Yonge interchange subway station by 15 per cent.
The subway line is expected to be up and running by 2030, but Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster could not say exactly when the project will be completed.
"It really is about what the market can deliver," Verster said.
Verster said Metrolinx expects to receive the first few commercial bids for parts of construction by the end of April and will be in a better position then to talk about a completion date.
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