I know this is a quick jab to the ever popular Leaside neighbourhood, but when you read the exciting news about what's happening with the crosstown LRT, you'll understand why we're much luckier. We will get all the benefits with very little pain.
To quote the local news: the Elington Crosstown is the cornerstone of the Toronto LRT projects. Starting at Mount Denis in the west and traveling underground from Black Creek Drive to Laird Avenue, the new LRT train will link to 54 bus routes, 3 TTC interchange subway stations and GO Transit.
This is where we get off so much better than our neighbours in Leaside. Don Mills residents can avoid much of the construction pain by staying away from Eglinton.
The big dig has begun. Commuters can expect a traffic nightmare for a while. Daily lane restrictions on Eglinton between Leslie and Laird have already begun as crews clear utility lines and trees in an area on the south side of Eglinton to make way for a massive excavation shaft.
Parts for the next two tunnel-boring machines - nicknamed Don and Humber - will arrive this summer and be assembled in the shaft before they start drilling the 3.25 km section heading west to Yonge St.
Many will have already experienced the lane reductions as traffic squeezes from 3 lanes each way, into 1 lane in each direction. In a couple of weeks, traffic will also be tied up around Laird as Metrolinx begins building the below ground walls that will form the ends of the subway station there. Work will continue on the station for 6 to 8 months. And it will take 2 years to build an emergency exit for the line close to Leaside High School.
For all the latest information check out the website http://www.thecrosstown.ca
