The provincial government officially began tunnelling the Ontario Line today with construction underway across the full length of the line.
Two tunnel boring machines are digging twin tunnels from Exhibition Station toward the Don Yard near the Don Valley Parkway and Lakeshore Boulevard, as deep as 40 metres below the surface.
Ontario Line trains will emerge from the tunnels at the Don Yard and continue east above ground across the lower Don Bridge.
The 15.6 kilometre run will be from Exhibition Place to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road, with 15 stations and more than 40 transit connections.
The province says that this project, once complete, will put nearly 230,000 people within walking distance of a rapid transit system.
“The start of tunnelling is a historic milestone for the Ontario Line which, once complete, will help cut travel times for commuters across Toronto by 40 minutes,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said during the press conference, which also included Toronto Centre MP Evan Solomon and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
“As mayor, I am committed to keeping the TTC affordable by freezing fares for three years while increasing service and improving reliability,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said.
Mjaor construction is underway at Exhibition Place where crews are building platforms and station entrances on both sides of the track.
Progress is being made at several downtown stations, with excavation complete at King West, Moss Park and Distillery District, and near completion in Chinatown.
Right now, construction on the line is expected to be complete in the early 2030s.
