More bus rapid transit on the way along Hwy. 7

Twelve kilometres of new dedicated bus lanes to be built in Vaughan and Richmond Hill

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 28, 2015
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Construction of dedicated bus lanes along one of Vaughan’s busiest east-west roads - which has clogged up traffic for the past two years - is expected to continue until 2020.

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca was joined by officials from Metrolinx, the Region of York and the City of Vaughan Monday to announce a “major milestone” in the next phase of building so-called rapidways on Hwy. 7 and Centre Street in Vaughan heading east into Richmond Hill.

That milestone was the awarding of a $333.2 million contract to EDCO, a joint venture of EllisDon Capital Inc. and Coco Paving, to design, build and finance 10 new Viva bus stations and 12 kilometres of dedicated bus lanes, also known as rapidways.

The first segment runs about six kilometres from Helen Street, just west of Pine Valley Drive, over to the Edgeley Boulevard/Interchange Way area.

The second six-kilometre leg stretches from the intersection of Centre Street and Hwy. 7 east to Yonge Street following the current Viva bus route that runs along Centre and up Bathurst streets.

“It is a fantastic day here, in front of all of you, in my home community,” Del Duca, who is also the MPP for Vaughan, told a small gathering of media, municipal politicians and federal political hopefuls in a sprawling parking lot, near the shuttered AMC Interchange 30 movie theatre, off Interchange Way.

“This really is an exciting opportunity. I’ve been looking forward to this (announcement) for quite some time.”

Construction work on the rapidways and bus stations is slated to begin next year with the buses expected to start rolling along these routes within five years.

It’s estimated that this infrastructure project will create about 14,000 construction jobs.

Since 2013, traffic has been bogged down on the stretch of Hwy. 7 between Jane Street and Bowes Road as construction crews build dedicated bus lanes and corresponding bus stations aimed at providing commuters using public transit a quicker route to the Spadina subway extension, forecasted to open by the end of 2017.

“Trust me, when this project is finished, it is going to be quite a transformation,” said Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, who is also chairman of the York Region Rapid Transit Corporation. “We’ve seen it in other parts of the region and the same will hold true here.”

In total, 34 kilometres of dedicated bus lanes and 38 new Viva bus stations are being built along major roadways throughout York Region.