Dundas St. East to reopen two months early
Construction on Dundas started in April and was scheduled to last until Halloween. The downtown artery will now re-open Aug. 19.

TheStar.com
Aug. 10, 2017
Betsy Powell

Construction to replace a watermain and TTC streetcar tracks on Dundas St. East, between Church and Yonge Sts., will be completed two-and-a-half months ahead of schedule, Mayor John Tory announced Thursday.

Torontonians should see this as evidence “of a new culture that we’re trying to bring to how we do these jobs at city hall,” Tory told a news conference at Dundas and Victoria Streets on Thursday morning.

Construction on Dundas started in April and was scheduled to last until Halloween. The downtown artery will now re-open Aug. 19, Tory said.

“Everybody pushed, I pushed, our staff pushed, and I think the real Herculean effort here was made by the contractor…and by the TTC.”

Hours were extended and the contractor assigned extra crews and equipment yet “the cost of the contract remained the same,” Tory said. “The contractor would rather do it faster by adding additional crews and equipment so they can move onto their next assignment.” The project budget was $3.7 million.

The work involved replacing a 100-year-old watermain from Church to Yonge, replacing streetcar tracks and realigning curbs so they’re compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Work hours have been extended for 32 construction projects across the city, including overnight work at nine locations and around the clock work at seven other locations, city staff said in a release.

Last week, Wellington St. reopened after watermain work was completed two months ahead of schedule.