Toronto's most cursed stretch of street ripped up for umpteenth time

The people who live and work around Toronto's Yonge and Eglinton intersection are a different breed, somehow able to cope with year upon year of construction as the neighbourhood gains countless new condo buildingss, a new LRT line and more.

The area has long been a pain point for the city, proving to be treacherous and troublesome for pedestrians, transit riders, drivers, businesses — just about everyone as various portions of local roads have devolved into work sites over and over again.

After multiple consecutive years of development at the corner of the two thoroughfares, lanes and walkways finally return to a usable state in late 2023, only to become a mess of roadwork again the following spring.

Since then, there have been glimpses of things finally reaching completion, only for the asphalt and sidewalks to be torn up once more, with even further projects and changes still on the table.

Toronto's most cursed intersection was just torn up yet again https://t.co/DHR3rKstvO

— blogTO (@blogTO) April 17, 2024

After a brief lull of near-peace, it looks like crews are back with shovels in the ground as of the end of February. This time around, the culprit isn't the LRT or a new residential complex, but some City-led infrastructure repairs.

According to a pre-construction notice issued to locals last month, the watermain along a swath of Yonge Street — from just south of Eglinton down to Manor Road — is being replaced "to renew our aging infrastructure, improve water distribution and reduce the risk of watermain breaks."

Approved back in 2024, the work kicked off on February 25, 2025, and is expected to continue through to September 30, 2025, though signs on site indicate this first phase may wrap up earlier.

It will involve excavating the roadway, digging trenches, removing the substandard watermain and any connecting pipes that likewise fail to meet modern specifications, installing the new infrastructure, refilling trenches and resurfacing the street.

Photos that community members have shared to socials in the last week and a half show roads looking the way people are likely used to by now — partially blocked off and full of pylons, machinery and construction materials.

A recent post to a Facebook group for Yonge and Eglinton residents shows how part of the area is back under never-ending construction.

The City notes that residents "may experience dust, noise and other inconveniences" as a reuslt of the initiative, but that crews will "make efforts to reduce the impacts and appreciate your patience."

It adds that the work may extend to "boulevards in front of homes and commercial properties," and could also end up including the removal and replacement of driveways, municipal sidewalks and grassed boulevards "where necessary."

So, the same crap Yonge and Eg has been putting up with for years now in the hopes that one day developers and contractors will finally be done with the pocket.