New Ontario LRT line now expected to open in 2028

Construction on Mississauga's long-awaited Hazel McCallion LRT is now reportedly expected to wrap up in 2028, pushing the timeline back several years from its original 2024 target.

The 18-kilometre, 19-stop light rail route, which will run between Port Credit and Steeles Avenue, first broke ground in 2020 and has been one of the GTA's most closely watched transit projects.

However, the latest update from Metrolinx to Mississauga city councillors suggests that the project will not reach substantial completion until spring 2028, as work continues to face delays linked to contractor disputes.

In a February project update, Metrolinx revealed that track work on the line has already been completed at the majority of intersections and along the guideway, with stops beginning to take shape with platform bases and canopy installation underway.

Metrolinx is naming the forthcoming Hurontario light rail transit (LRT) project as the Hazel McCallion Line, to commemorate the late former Mississauga mayor, who held office for 36 years. The line will eventually connect commuters to major transit systems in the GTA, including GO Transit, the Mississauga Transitway, Brampton Transit, Züm, and MiWay.

Still, large sections of the track remain incomplete, and several intersections along Hurontario St. are still under active construction.

According to a Global News report, Mississauga councillors were recently briefed on the project timeline, where Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay indicated that the agency is now targeting a spring 2028 completion date for the initial route.

That completion date would mark the end of major construction work, but it would still come before several key steps needed to actually open the line up to the public, including rigorous testing and revenue service demonstration.

Those final stages have historically taken months to complete and were a major factor in delays for both the Finch West LRT and the long-overdue Eglinton Crosstown LRT, before either line officially began operating.

During a quarterly Metrolinx board meeting in February, Lindsay noted that, "All parties, including Metrolinx, need to ensure on all of our projects that we're remaining focused on project completion and not on commercial claims that arise as between partners."

He added that, "The reason we have a capital (project) function at Metrolinx is to make sure that we deliver a service for people eventually, and staying focused on doing the right things even if it requires compromises in respect of commercial strategies, legal strategies, in order to get [things] done while still respecting taxpayer dollars."