Toronto's Eglinton Crosstown extension just crossed a huge milestone

Toronto's most-talked-about transit line will soon grow a whole lot longer, as the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project celebrates a key construction milestone on its way towards a planned 2031 completion date.

It has only been six months since the drawn-out Eglinton Crosstown LRT debacle finally came to a conclusion, but work has been racing along to extend Line 5 deep into Etobicoke towards Pearson International Airport.

The provincial government announced on Tuesday that tunnelling work for the line is officially complete following the breakthrough of tunnel boring machines on a pair of 500-metre tunnels from Mount Dennis Station to Jane Street.

Completion of this eastern underground segment follows the boring of a much longer western underground segment stretching over six kilometres between Scarlett Road and Renforth Drive, which wrapped up in June 2024.

The tunnelled sections will be divided by an elevated stretch spanning a vast floodplain of the Humber River.

Todd McCarthy, Ontario's Acting Minister of Infrastructure, calls the completion of tunnelling "another important milestone in delivering faster and more reliable transit across the GTA," and notes how the project will also boost housing.

"We are planning a transit-oriented community at the future Martin Grove Station along the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension," said McCarthy. "This TOC will deliver nearly 685 new homes, support approximately 30 new jobs and make it easier for residents to connect to opportunities across the region," he added.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow hailed the milestone as "another important step toward building the connected transit network Toronto needs. This extension will make it easier for people to travel across the city, with better connections to jobs, schools and essential services."

The project will eventually extend the existing Line 5 by another 9.2 kilometres to the edge of Mississauga. Once the extension is complete, Line 5 will cover over 29 kilometres, adding seven stations and new connections to UP Express, GO Transit, TTC and Mississauga's MiWay transit network.

The province estimates that the extension will save commuters up to 24 minutes travelling between Yonge and Eglinton in Toronto and Square One in Mississauga.