One of busiest intersections to close for 5 days in Mississauga due to LRT work

Work on the $4.6-billion Hazel McCallion light-rail transit line is going to shut down one of Mississauga’s busiest intersections for five days starting later this week.

City of Mississauga transit officials said a “full closure” of the Hurontario and Dundas streets intersection will be in effect from June 11 through 15 — this Thursday through next Monday — to allow for specific work on the Hazel McCallion Line, the route that when completed will run 18 kilometres from south Mississauga north into downtown Brampton.

As a result, MiWay bus routes 1, 2, 101 and 103 will follow detours in the area over the course of the five days, the city said. Routes 1 and 101 take passengers east-west along Dundas Street while routes 2 and 103 travel north-south on Hurontario Street.

City officials also advise drivers in the area to “allow extra travel time and follow all detour signage” during the June 11-15 intersection closure. 

The Hazel McCallion Line, under construction since 2020, is scheduled to be completed at some point in 2028 — which would put it nearly four years behind schedule.

Metrolinx, the provincial agency overseeing the massive transit project described as the largest in Mississauga’s history, updated the city on the well-behind-schedule initiative at a closed-door session in late April.

The mayor, city councillors and senior staff had long expressed frustration at project delays they’ve said are hurting businesses and testing drivers’ patience daily.

In an interview with INsauga.com in May, Mayor Carolyn Parrish said she and other city officials were told by Metrolinx the Hazel McCallion Line would be ready in 2028 to take its first passengers.

The new LRT line, which when completed will whisk riders from Port Credit GO station in south Mississauga north into Brampton along Hurontario Street, was initially to open in fall 2024.

However, the project has encountered various delays since that date was set.

Prior to being brought up to speed on the large project by Metrolinx in April, senior city staff, councillors and Parrish had expressed frustration for the better part of a year with ongoing delays associated with construction of the LRT line.

Last September, Parrish described the project as “an incredible mess.” She later told INsauga.com it wouldn’t surprise her if the new LRT route didn’t take its first passengers until 2029.

When it opens to passengers, the 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.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said earlier this year that extending the $4.6-billion Hazel McCallion Line from Hurontario Street into the busy and fast-growing downtown core of Mississauga will cost another $1.6 billion — the construction tab to be picked up by the provincial government.