Tunnellilng has been going on for half a year on the underground portions of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, but the really obvious phase of the construction will begin sometime after a contract is signed in spring 2015 for the construction of 25 stations, part of a $5.3-billion project.
Tunnellilng has been going on for half a year on the underground portions of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, but the really obvious phase of the construction will begin sometime after a contract is signed in spring 2015 for the construction of 25 stations, part of a $5.3-billion project.
Businesses are bracing for on Eglinton Ave. during the next phase of 色色啦鈥檚 largest construction project: building 25 stations for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line.
鈥淭his is a project that goes through an urban environment, and by definition will come with some traffic disruption,鈥 said Ehren Cory, the executive vice-president of Infrastructure Ontario.
Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency overseeing the $5.3-billion project, is accepting bids from two groups of companies for the multi-billion-dollar contract to build the stations and LRT track by 2020.
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Tunnel-boring machines are already excavating the 10-kilometre underground portion of the 19-kilometre line, which will run along Eglinton Ave. from Weston Rd. to Kennedy Station.
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Nick Alampi, chair of the York-Eglinton BIA, said surface construction supporting the tunnel work has already choked the roads and restricted parking, keeping customers away from the area.
鈥淭here were a lot of committed promises in the beginning on strengthening communication and encouraging shop-local business programs,鈥 Alampi said. 鈥淚t seems to beat at their drum, not at ours.鈥
Jack Collins, the executive vice-president of Metrolinx, said the agency is working with neighbourhoods affected by the work.
鈥淲e need to keep those storefronts open, we need to let people know that the businesses are still open,鈥 Collins said.
The transit agency is also trying to soften the blow by offering incentives to companies bidding on the station construction.
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鈥淭he bidders have to bid for how many hours of shut-down of a lane. There鈥檚 a cost to that,鈥 Cory said. 鈥淪o if they were going to close a lane in rush hour at the corner of Bathurst and Eglinton, there鈥檚 a cost to that implied in their bid.鈥
Once work starts, the construction company will have to live up to its promises or face penalties, Cory said.
The winning bidder will be chosen in late 2014, with the final contract to be signed in spring 2015.
Jack Collins, the executive vice-president of Metrolinx, said the timeframe of the project means the stations will have to be built simultaneously.
鈥淲ith 15 underground stations that each take approximately three years to build, it鈥檚 almost a given,鈥 he said.
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