LRT line could open 5 years later than initially planned in Mississauga: mayor

Not long ago a believer that the much-delayed $4.6-billion Hazel McCallion light-rail transit line might open the doors to riders by 2026, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish has amended her estimate — significantly.

“I don’t expect to see anybody on (the Hazel McCallion Line) before 2029,” Parrish told INsauga.com during an interview at her city hall office this week.

If she’s right, that would put the massive transit project, the largest in Mississauga’s history, roughly four to five years behind schedule.

“And that’s a terribly long time for businesses along Hurontario (Street),” the mayor added, noting they’re losing business as ongoing construction on the major street has affected traffic patterns, sending numerous cars to alternate north-south routes such as McLaughlin Road and Cawthra Road to avoid the mess on Hurontario Street.

“It’s hard on those neighbourhoods and it’s hard on businesses, and I feel really badly for them,” said Parrish, who in September described the ongoing project as “an incredible mess.”

Mayor Carolyn Parrish says the Hazel McCallion Line might not be completed before 2029.

About a year ago, Parrish held out hope the 22-kilometre Mississauga-to-Brampton LRT route might be completed sometime in 2026, which would put it a year-and-a-half to two years behind schedule from initial estimates of a fall 2024 opening.

However, the mayor, councillors and City of Mississauga senior staff have more recently expressed frustration with ongoing delays associated with construction of the LRT line — which, when completed, will whisk passengers from Port Credit GO in south Mississauga all the way north to downtown Brampton via Hurontario Street.

The city is still waiting for Metrolinx, the provincial agency in charge of the huge infrastructure project, to provide an estimated completion date for the Hazel McCallion Line.

Work continues all along the Hazel McCallion Line route, from south Mississauga all the way into Brampton. (Photo: Metrolinx video)

For the past year or longer, the agency has said only that “when construction nears completion and we move into the testing and commissioning phase, we will be in a better position to provide a specific opening date.”

In an email to INsauga.com on Thursday, Metrolinx provided latest updates on the progress made by work crews, adding “while these are important steps forward, we will continue to push Mobilinx for continued progress on this critical project.”

Mobilinx is the Mississauga-based contractor tasked to build the LRT line.

Metrolinx added in its latest email that “once construction nears completion and we move into the testing and commissioning phase, we will be in a better position to provide an approximate opening date. Metrolinx will continue to work with municipal partners to share project progress and address issues.”

The completed Hazel McCallion Line will feature more than 20 stops along the route, including several in Mississauga’s downtown core by Square One. Metrolinx received the go-ahead from the province in February 2024 to extend the LRT line by three or four kilometres into downtown Brampton and reintroduce the “downtown loop” to the City Centre area of Mississauga. The latter component will add several stops to the route.

(Image: Metrolinx)