QEW underpass for light rail transit project construction starts in Mississauga
Published October 13, 2022 at 1:08 pm
Crews working on a $1.4-billion Hurontario light rail transit (LRT) line that will run from south Mississauga to Brampton are getting ready to tackle a major part of the massive project–creating an underpass below the QEW.
And they’re doing the work using an innovative new technique that’s described as a first in Ontario and expected to significantly reduce the work time and associated traffic impact.
Project leaders say the next step in construction of the 18-kilometre Hazel McCallion Line, which is expected to open to passengers in fall 2024, is the installation of an underpass on Hurontario St. in Mississauga, at the QEW.
They add that from Oct. 28-31, traffic restrictions will be in place at that location as crews start the work. Hurontario St., between North and South service roads, will be closed from the Friday night (Oct. 28) to Monday morning.
“Necessary construction work is required to help bring the new LRT to life, which may cause temporary disruption for some drivers and residents,” officials with Metrolinx, the provincial agency overseeing the project, said in a news release today (Oct. 13). “To minimize disruptions as much as possible, innovative construction techniques are being used to reduce the duration of the work.”
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QEW traffic that weekend will be reduced to two lanes in each direction and diverted to Hurontario St. before returning to the highway, officials say.
Work will begin with the installation of a “push box,” a large and hollow concrete “box” that will be pushed into place to form the new underpass.
“This push box will form a new underpass along Hurontario St. for northbound vehicular traffic to accommodate the future LRT and minimize traffic congestion,” project officials say. “New LRT tracks will span the existing northbound lane, with the push box diverting traffic into a brand-new northbound lane.”
Importantly, Metrolinx officials note, a new technique is being used to save time.
“The box is being pushed over 55 hours through the QEW, which is a record timing,” said Rhythm Vyas, a project coordinator at Mobilinx, constructor of the Hazel McCallion Line. “Without these innovative methods, construction of the underpass, in my estimate, would have taken over at least one-and-a-half years and been significantly more disruptive to traffic.
“This push box infrastructure will be the first of its kind to be pushed through a highway in Ontario,” Vyas added.
Currently, work crews are building the roof of the “push box,” which will be directly under the QEW. Once that’s completed, the QEW will be excavated while hydraulic jacks will simultaneously push it into place, officials say.
When completed, the Hazel McCallion Line will run from Port Credit GO station in south Mississauga to Brampton. It will feature 19 stops along the way and if City of Mississauga officials get what they want, the “transit loop” that would serve people living in highrises in the city’s downtown core will once again be part of the project.
In addition to recent work on utilities, crews working on the LRT have also been focusing on completing tasks around two major creeks in Mississauga in an effort to prevent devastating local floods in the future.
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