Construction just kicked off for another new Toronto subway station

Metrolinx has officially broken ground on the new subway station coming to Toronto's Lawrence Avenue and McCowan Road intersection as part of the new Scarborough Subway Extension (SSE) project.

The province announced the start of construction for the new SSE station last week, and on Wednesday, Metrolinx shared updated images of the station site as work ramps up for the new transit link.

The SSE project will extend the TTC's Line 2 subway another 7.8 kilometres into Scarborough, replacing the now-dead Line 4 Scarborough RT with a three-stop extension that will cost taxpayers over $10 billion.

The future Lawrence and McCowan station is projected to serve over 5,000 customers during rush hour, compared to the 26,000 customers who used the more centrally located Bloor-Yonge station during the average rush hour in 2019, and cost just a fraction to build as its modern sibling underway in Scarborough. 

In addition to serving a handful of suburban customers whose cars are in the shop that day, the new Lawrence and McCowan will offer connections to nearly 3,500 jobs in the neighbourhood, and will feature a bus terminal feeding in passengers from around Scarborough.

"Once complete, the Scarborough Subway Extension will reduce travel times for thousands of residents, connecting more people to good jobs, schools and vital appointments," said Premier Doug Ford.

Ongoing works at the station include piling and excavation, part of the broader line-wide construction employing approximately 3,000 workers.

Work on the SSE project officially began in June 2021, and advanced to tunnelling operations in 2023. Now, approximately five years into its build-out, the new extension's stations are beginning to take shape.

Tunnelling for the extension is now roughly 75 per cent complete, featuring the widest-diameter subway tunnel in Canada — wide enough to fit a three-storey building inside. Unlike the twin tunnelled lines under construction elsewhere in the city, the SSE will feature a massive single-bore tunnel carrying train traffic in both directions.

Once complete, the project will extend Line 2 to a new terminus north of Highway 401 at Sheppard Avenue East and McCowan Road, stopping along the way in stations at Lawrence Avenue East and McCowan Road, as well as Scarborough Centre.