eglinton crosstown lrt opening date

Toronto's Eglinton Crosstown may be delayed until 2024 and people are furious

More bad news for Toronto's long-overdue Eglinton Crosstown LRT, as a new report claims that the line will not enter service until 2024 at the earliest.

The Toronto Sun's Brian Lilley reported Wednesday evening that the line will likely not hit its most recently-announced targeted completion by the end of 2023, citing sources in government and the transportation industry.

Lilley's sources tell him that revenue service for the Crosstown "isn't something that will happen this year."

If that wasn't bad enough, those same sources state that the Finch West LRT, which was also targeting a 2023 completion, is unlikely to open this year.

The revelation has been met with an outpouring of anger from commuters, taxpayers concerned about reckless government spending, and others politically opposed to the public-private partnership model used to build the line.

Many are pointing the finger at Metrolinx, which has overseen the project's protracted construction.

Work on the Crosstown line started in 2011 when boring began for its twin tunnels. Though mostly complete in 2023, issues just keep on popping up, and construction is now threatening to stretch into its 13th year.

Even just last week, Metrolinx revealed that uneven concrete would be replaced for the Crosstown's Sloane stop on Eglinton east of the Don Valley Parkway.

Meanwhile, the rising salary of Metrolinx executives like CEO Phil Verster is not sitting right with some commenters.

Even politicians and executives are playing the blame game. Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney has placed blame on the previous Liberal government, claiming it was mismanaged from the beginning. The Ford government has also placed blame on Crosslinx, the consortium responsible for the line's construction.

But recent findings uncovered in a freedom of information request by the Toronto Star revealed that the Ford government has directed Metrolinx to ignore requests from reporters looking into the Crosstown's construction timeline.

Lead photo by

Jack Landau


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