Get ready for Ontario Line construction and downtown traffic woes

Torontosun.com
Dec. 12, 2022

Traffic disruptions on University Ave. are the latest sign that things are moving forward on the new Ontario Line subway.

Given last week’s news about no end in sight for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT -- 11 years in and a billion over budget -- it’s not easy to feel celebratory about the Ontario Line construction.

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It will turn the city centre upside down for several years.

Then again, anyone who has to drive in and out of Liberty Village daily is probably keen to see the subway work started.

The 16-km subway line will run from Exhibition Place through downtown and up to the Science Centre; the “through downtown” part will make Queen St. and environs a no-go-zone for some time.

Change has begun.

As of Dec. 12, James Street -- the little street that marks the eastern border of the Eaton Centre -- will be closed to traffic.

Utility relocation will begin and below-street-level construction will start to prepare the future site of Queen Station.

Nearby, an eastbound lane of Queen St. has been closed off and will stay that way for several months. That closure is to relocate existing underground hydro vaults.

The Queen Station on the Ontario line will be located underneath the existing Queen Station that’s part of the north/south Line 1 under Yonge St.

The stations will be linked.

York St., meanwhile, will get additional streetcar tracks to provide a detour for the TTC Queen 501 streetcar during construction of the Queen Station.

On University Ave., southbound traffic is now reduced to one lane and will stay that way until the middle of 2023.

That’s bad news for drivers and worse news for cyclists, who will have to share that single lane with cars.

Northbound closures are scheduled for next year.

The Lakeshore Blvd. W., between Rees St. and Spadina Ave., will continue to be shy one eastbound lane for the rest of the year and into 2023.

Lakeshore Blvd. E., meanwhile, from Cherry St. to Carlaw Ave., has two westbound lanes closed during ongoing reconstruction of the Don River Bridge.

On Yonge St., between Asquith Ave. and Hayden St., one lane north and southbound are closed while work continues on the sewer line through Dec. 23.

Farther south on Yonge St., from Harbour St. to Queens Quay E., one southbound lane will be closed until Dec. 23.

 You can find updated information on Toronto road closures daily on the City of Toronto website.