New subway station bridging over busy Toronto street is taking shape fast

A new subway station is taking shape above a busy Toronto thoroughfare as part of the $34-billion Ontario Line project, which is set to reshape the city's transit network in the coming years.

The 15.6-kilometre subway line conveniently connecting the shuttered Ontario Science Centre with Exhibition Place (and the also-closed Ontario Place) will feature 15 stops, including an elevated station bridging over Queen Street East at De Grassi Street.

Under construction since 2023, the new Leslieville Station will serve the surrounding Riverdale and Leslieville neighbourhoods with a new rapid transit link that will give locals lightning-quick access to the downtown core, while relieving crowded 501 Queen streetcars.

Construction has been racing along for various elements of the station and supporting infrastructure, and Metrolinx has been sharing updates on the new rail link as work progresses.

The station's bridge continues to take shape, and its fascia, or exterior edges, will be installed starting in April 2027.

Other recent corridor work included a full weekend track closure on Nov. 7-8 to accommodate the installation of noise barriers between Eastern and Jones avenues.

Work on Leslieville Station itself has been making rapid progress in recent months, including the recent completion of piling and completion of test pits that will be used for sub-utility investigations, as well as forming the foundation of piers that will support the new Leslieville Station and its approach tracks bridging the Ontario Line over Queen Street East.

Pier installation has since begun, and excavation along with the placing of rebar are ongoing at an area of the site known as the south headhouse, which will eventually serve as the southern entrance to the completed station.

Leslieville Station is expected to serve 4,000 passengers per hour at peak periods, and will put approximately 9,500 residents within a 10-minute walk of rapid transit based on 2041 population estimates.

The Ontario Line is expected to open in the early 2030s.