Construction on $1 billion Durham-Toronto rapid transit line finally begins

Construction on a rapid transit corridor connecting Durham Region and Scarborough, first proposed in 2007 and given the preliminary green light 15 years ago, is finally getting underway, with the first segment of the Durham-Scarborough Bus Rapid Transit to begin next week.

The first phase of the 36-kilometre project, which has a price tag likely to exceed $1 billion, will be approximately 300 metres west of Harwood Avenue to Galea Drive in the Town of Ajax. Work will include the construction of dedicated median bus lanes, median transit stop platforms and shelters, road reconstruction, traffic signals with dedicated bus movements, dedicated in-boulevard cycle tracks with crossrides, sidewalks with accessibility improvements, watermain and sanitary sewer installation, street lighting and landscaping.

KAPP Infrastructure will begin mobilizing the week of August 5, with anticipated completion by June 2027.

The purpose of the Durham-Scarborough BRT project is to create seamless connections with local transit networks along the high-demand Highway 2-Ellesmere corridor, providing residents of Durham and Toronto more flexibility and choice to get where they need to go faster.

The need for such a transit service is urgent, with 43,000 new residents and 26,000 new jobs expected within a ten-minute walk of the corridor over the next couple of decades.

High-traffic segments on the west side of Durham’s portion have already got funding in place through the Canada Infrastructure Program and will be part of the first phase, starting with the $12 million Harwood-to-Galea section.

Other high-priority segments in the first phase include Dixie Road to Bainbridge Drive ($28 million) and Steeple Hill to Meritton Drive ($11 million) in Pickering; Rotherglen Road to Harwood Avenue ($11 million) in Ajax; and Lakeridge Road to Des Newman Boulevard ($12 million) in Whitby.

Spur lines to Durham College/Ontario Tech University are also in the works.

The current end point for the dedicated rapid bus line that will travel from Scarborough Town Centre through Pickering, Ajax and Whitby and into Oshawa on the Highway 2 corridor, is downtown Oshawa, with connections to the new Central Oshawa GO station coming to the old Knob Hill Farms site.

There will be temporary lane closures during the first phase construction period and
Kingston Road will have lane shifts and daytime lane restrictions, reducing traffic to one lane in each direction during off-peak periods. In the final stages of the project, anticipated in late 2026, Kingston Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction for longer durations to facilitate construction.

Residents and business owners should expect traffic delays. Access to business entrances will be maintained whenever possible and businesses will remain open for the duration of construction. ‘Open for Business’ signage will be erected throughout the project limits.

Municipal construction projects include the use of equipment which may cause noticeable noise and vibration for nearby residents and businesses.