Metrolinx announces weekend restrictions on QEW & partial closure of Hurontario for LRT work

TORONTO, Oct. 14, 2022 – Traffic around the QEW and Hurontario intersection is expected to become snarled over the course of Halloween weekend from Friday night, Oct. 28 at 10 p.m., to Monday morning, Oct. 31. Metrolinx has announced that Hurontario Street in Mississauga will be closed between the North Service Road and the South Service Road and the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) will have lane restrictions near Hurontario Street in Mississauga.

The closures are in order to facilitate the rapid installation of the LRT underpass beneath the QEW Hurontario bridge.

According to a press release by Metrolinx, a push box will be installed to form a new underpass along Hurontario Street for northbound vehicular traffic to accommodate the future LRT Hazel McCallion Line and minimize traffic congestion. A push box is a large, hollow concrete box that will be pushed into place, forming a new underpass.

Metrolinx says new LRT tracks will span the existing northbound lane, with the push box diverting traffic into a brand-new northbound lane. 

This is a new technique in order minimize disruptions as much as possible, innovative construction techniques are being used to reduce the duration of the work.

Record timing for installation of LRT underpass

“The box is being pushed over 55 hours through the QEW, which is a record timing,” said Rhythm Vyas, a project coordinator at Mobilinx, constructor of the Hazel McCallion Line.

“Without these innovative methods, construction of the underpass, in my estimate, would have taken over at least one-and-a-half years and been significantly more disruptive to traffic. 

“This push box infrastructure will be the first of its kind to be pushed through a highway in Ontario.”

Crews are now building the roof of the push box, which will be directly under the QEW.

Once complete, the QEW will be excavated while hydraulic jacks will simultaneously push it into place.

Concrete slabs ready to go

Crews have already finished a launch slab to carry the weight of the entire push box as it’s being built and pushed through. Additionally, the construction of a 1.2-metre-thick base slab which took 10 hours to pour, sits on top of the launch slab (separated by a thin plastic layer) and both walls of the box.

At Port Credit GO, a push-box has already been constructed.

This will serve as the underpass for light rail vehicles to enter and exit the station. It will be pushed underneath the Lakeshore West GO Transit tracks later this year.

All QEW lanes will be fully re-instated on Oct. 31.

Once in service (projected for fall 2024), the 18-kilometre Hazel McCallion Line will feature 19 stops, travel through two urban growth centres and connect to major transit systems including GO Transit (Milton and Lakeshore West lines), the Mississauga Transitway, Brampton Transit, ZUM and MiWay. The Hazel McCallion Line will operate in its own dedicated lane ensuring a smooth, reliable and convenient ride along the region’s busiest street.

The Hazel McCallion Line – which will continue to be referred to as the Hurontario LRT project while construction is underway, until the line opens – will operate with clean, electrically powered light rail vehicles, producing near zero emissions.

Stay up to date with Metrolinx News for further updates.

by TOtimes Staff

Source notes and images Metrolinx