Crews Begin Excavation at Four Eglinton Crosstown West Extension Stations
Major excavation work has begun on four underground stations for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension in Toronto, Daily Commercial News reports.
Crews are building station boxes, the underground structures forming each station’s main body, at Martin Grove Road, Kipling Avenue, Islington Avenue and Royal York Road along Eglinton Avenue West. The extension will total seven stations, with the remaining three at Jane Street, Scarlett Road and Renforth Drive still to follow.
Market Impact
The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE), also known as Line 5, carries a project value of $604 million and is located in Etobicoke, ON. Metrolinx crews have also completed excavation of the first of two 500-metre tunnels running from Pearen Park to Mount Dennis Station, and have finished 85% of the piers supporting the project’s 1.5-kilometre elevated guideway, with bridge deck construction now underway, according to the release cited by Daily Commercial News.
Once complete, the extension will push the Eglinton Crosstown LRT 9.2 kilometres farther west, creating nearly 30 kilometres of continuous rapid transit along Eglinton Avenue linking Scarborough, Midtown Toronto and Mississauga. The federal government is contributing approximately $1.87 billion to the project, which forms part of the Province of Ontario’s $70 billion transit plan.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Shoring and excavation support subs should watch for near-term packages tied to the four station boxes now underway at Martin Grove Road, Kipling Avenue, Islington Avenue and Royal York Road, where dewatering and ground stabilization work typically follows initial dig-out.
- Utility relocation crews working the Eglinton Avenue West corridor should track coordination requirements as excavation advances at multiple sites simultaneously, since station box construction usually requires clearing existing underground utility conflicts before deep excavation proceeds.
- Structural and concrete subcontractors should note that bridge deck work is now active on the 1.5-kilometre elevated guideway, with 85% of piers already complete, meaning deck-pour and structural steel packages for that segment could be issued in the coming months.
- Tunneling-adjacent trades, including ventilation, waterproofing and lining subs, should monitor progress on the second 500-metre tunnel between Pearen Park and Mount Dennis Station now that the first bore is complete, as follow-on interior fit-out packages tend to trail tunnel completion.
- Firms bidding into GTA transit work should track the three remaining ECWE stations at Jane Street, Scarlett Road and Renforth Drive, which have not yet reached the excavation stage but represent additional subcontract volume within the same $604 million scope.
