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    1. Rail
    2. Infrastructure

    Massive excavation efforts underway for Metrolinx’s Hurontario light-rail transit route

    Sept. 30, 2021
    Experts working on the Hurontario Light Rail Transit line connecting Mississauga and Brampton need to excavate a total of 4,753 cubic meters.
    Related To: Metrolinx
    Metrolinx
    Crews work on the push box site.
    Crews work on the push box site.

    Crews working on the Hurontario light-rail transit (LRT) system are undertaking a huge excavation effort that continues to unfold along the 18-km (11-mile) route that’s expected to open in 2024. 

    Crews have been excavating a portion of the south and east parking lot for the construction of the push box, the structure that will help form a tunnel underneath the Lakeshore West Corridor railway tracks. Piles will support the ground for the construction of the station box. Excavation work includes having to dig deep enough for both the push box and station box structures and install the retaining wall that will support it. 

    There’s also more heavy work taking place for road widening in north Mississauga. Currently, the road widening works involve installation of curb, gutters and subdrains, as well as backfilling and paving. 

    What does this all add up to? 

    • 4,753 cubic meters of excavation 
    • 8,470 tons of granular placed (This is about three-quarters as heavy as the Eiffel Tower.) 
    • 1,157 meters of concrete curb poured 
    • 856 meters of subdrain installed (That’s about nine football fields.) 

    And there’s work going on around Mary Fix Creek. A 60-foot-long corrugated steel pipe has been temporarily installed in the creek as construction progresses. Its purpose is to prevent any debris from falling into the creek and it has the capacity to withstand a 100-year storm. 

    Mary Fix Creek plays an important role in Mississauga’s water infrastructure. Named after a local pioneer, city-builder and philanthropist, the creek starts at Mavis Road and Eglinton Avenue and flows through central Mississauga including a section that is parallel to Hurontario Street south of the QEW, emptying into the Credit River at the CN Bridge in Port Credit. Urban streams and creeks, like Mary Fix Creek, are important elements of local natural heritage systems which serve as habitat for local wildlife species such as squirrels, racoons and migratory birds.