Major road closures about to turn Eglinton into a nightmare

By 2021, Toronto will have a fresh new east-west transit line in the form of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

Getting across town will be easier than ever for people in the northern part of our city, where residential and commercial growth is exploding.

Those who live and work in the area will surely appreciate a faster commute when the project is complete – especially after Eglinton Avenue becomes a waking nightmare for the next three years.

Yeah, construction started on the Eglinton East LRT back in 2014, and yeah, traffic is already pretty gummed up because of it.

What I'm saying is that things are going to get worse. Sorry.

Reminder: the north-south crosswalk on the west side of Yonge & Eglinton is closed to facilitate shoring work. Pls use the underground tunnel at CIBC building at the southeast corner or secondary entrance on Yonge Street to access Eglinton Station. Video: https://t.co/bjIiGfHilm pic.twitter.com/JSefa9ylCm

— Crosstown (@CrosstownTO) January 15, 2018

A report set to go before the The City of Toronto's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee this Friday recommends that City Council "temporarily close" at least seven different stretches of Eglinton for construction over the next three years.

If approved, the westbound lanes of West from Strathearn Road to William R. Allen Road will be closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic from January 31, 2018 until Dec. 31, 2021 (a continuation of the existing road setup, which allows through traffic by sharing the other open lanes.)

The eastbound lanes of Eglinton from Duplex to Holly Street will be closed from December 31, 2018 to and including July 31, 2019.

Toronto's General Manager of Transportation Services also recommends that Black Creek Drive be "partially or fully" closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic immediately north of Eglinton West, from February 1, 2018, to and including December 31, 2019.

And so on, and so forth.

You can read the full report here to see how your commute might be affected – but remember, nothing is set in stone just yet. You have until Friday to hold out hope.