Spadina subway extension ‘about 70 per cent complete,’ says TTC CEO
Insidetoronto.com
May 4, 2015
By Dominik Kurek
TTC CEO Andy Byford is touting the construction progress of the Toronto-York Spadina subway extension (TYSSE), saying the project is moving towards the target date of opening in late 2017.
The tunnels are in place and the majority of the tracks have been laid south of Steeles Avenue.
“The project overall is about 70 per cent complete. The tunnels were completed back in 2013, the track is nearly all laid, the power rail is going in, the station boxes themselves are all in differing levels of construction,” he said, standing approximately 25 metres below ground on the platform level of the future Hwy. 407 subway station.
Byford and TTC staff gave media organizations a tour of several of the future subway stations on Monday, May 4 with a walk through the stations themselves and the track tunnels, revealing that much of the heavy work is complete.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been to this station (Hwy. 407). I’m struck by how much it has advanced since I was last here,” Byford said. “The contractor has really powered on and that’s what we need. We need two really long, dry summers. That is critical to meeting our end date of 2017.”
The Hwy. 407 station is about 60 to 65 per cent complete, with the station’s structure being nearly entirely finished.
About 60 per cent of the tracks along the extension are laid, including in all of the tunnels south of Steeles Avenue, save for the tracks at the York University and Pioneer Village stations.
Joanna Kervin, TTC director of third party, planning and property, said the tracks should be fully laid in 2016.
After that, the tunnels will be outfitted. This includes installing dry fire line piping, hangers for signals, and running of cables through tunnels. Then, crews will bring power to the tunnels, scheduled for April 2017. Once power is in place, the TTC can test the subway extension before it is opened to the public.
“Our drive for the schedule is getting everything ready to get that power turned on,” Kervin said. “That’s critically important.”
She said there are approximately 800 to 900 workers per day through the TYSSE project.
All the stations along the extension will be fully accessible and are planned to open simultaneously.
Downsview Park station will integrate TTC subway and GO Transit train services in one station. The station is about 85 per cent complete, and the tracks have been laid. The station features large windows that bring natural light to the station, including down at the station level. Downsview Park will be a walk-to station with no parking on site.
The Hwy. 407 station, located in York Region, was the northernmost station on the tour. The station will feature a 550-space commuter parking lot, an 18-bay bus terminal for GO and York Region Transit (YRT) and a future connection for the Hwy. 407 Transitway. The station will have large stained-glass windows to bring natural light inside as well.
Media also visited the future Pioneer Village station, located on Steeles Avenue. The station will feature bus terminals for TTC and YRT vehicles, and will have parking.
