Toronto intersection already a mess of construction is about to get worse for months

A major Toronto intersection already undergoing a long-term disruption is about to get worse, creating a new bottleneck on one of the city's busiest streets that is set to stretch on for months.

Metrolinx has announced that it will begin watermain-related work at the already-restricted intersection of Yonge and Queen streets as early as August 4, 2026, in a project expected to last for three whole months.

The transit agency announced that utility work for the future Ontario Line station at Queen will result in rolling lane restrictions that could last until November.

According to Metrolinx, work will take place in phases at different areas of the intersection to maintain vehicle access, though it may make the already-gridlocked stretch of Yonge Street one area motorists want to avoid through the late summer and fall.

Metrolinx has released diagrams showing how vehicle traffic will be directed around the worksite through temporary lane reductions.

Metrolinx

Eastbound and westbound vehicle traffic through the intersection has been shut down since May 2023 and is not expected to reopen until late 2027 or early 2028 to accommodate construction for the Ontario Line subway station at this site.

The TTC 501 Queen streetcar has been routed around this obstruction on a parallel route that is expected to remain in place until the station below is built up to street level, and streetcar tracks restored.

The 15.6-kilometre Ontario Line subway will add 15 stops to Toronto's rapid transit network, connecting Exhibition Place in the southwest with the Line 5 Eglinton in the northeast.

Metrolinx

Queen Station is expected to be the busiest point along the route, offering a new interchange with the Line 1 - Yonge University subway, and providing urgently-needed relief to existing interchanges at Bloor-Yonge and St George.

Metrolinx

Previously scheduled to open in 2031, the provincial government has since revised the Ontario Line's opening timeline to a vague "early 2030s" window.