The Government of Canada is committed to helping Canadian cities put in place the infrastructure they need to prosper.
To this end, on March 13, 2013, The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Labour and Member of Parliament for Halton; the Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario; the Honourable Glen Murray, Ontario Minister of Transportation and Minister of Infrastructure; His Worship Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto; Bill Fisch, Chairman and CEO of The Regional Municipality of York, His Worship Maurizio Bevilacqua, Mayor of the City of Vaughan and Karen Stintz, Toronto Transit Commission Chair visited the site of the future Highway 407 Station to launch the tunnel construction of the next phase of the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE) that will improve transit service and create economic growth in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
The Government of Canada has committed up to $697 million to the project, $622 million of which will be delivered through its Building Canada Fund. The remaining $75 million has already been transferred to the project under the Public Transit Capital Trust 2006. Funding for this project was announced at a groundbreaking ceremony in November 2009.
The Province of Ontario has provided $870 million towards the TYSSE project through the Move Ontario Trust. The City of Toronto is contributing $526 million to the project and The Regional Municipality of York is contributing $352 million. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the project manager for the extension.
The TYSSE project will improve transit service by supporting a reliable multi-modal transportation network that is integrated with other transit systems within the GTA. This initiative will promote economic growth, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by helping take cars off the road, and reduce travel times for commuters.
The TYSSE is expected to be completed by fall 2016 and will generate thousands of jobs from construction.
The requirements for this project and the associated underground tunnels were identified through transportation planning initiatives led by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) beginning in the early 1980s. In 2005, Toronto City Council approved the project as Toronto's top priority for subway expansion. In addition, this project is also consistent with Ontario's Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Toronto's Official Plan, the York Region Official Plan, and the Vaughan Official Plan. Public consultation occurred during all of the planning initiatives mentioned above. Consultations, community meetings and public information centres continue to be provided during construction.
"Holey", "Moley", "Yorkie" and "Torkie" are the official names of the four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that are being used to build the tunnels for the TYSSE. "Holey" and "Moley" are working as a pair; "Yorkie" and "Torkie" are also working as a pair. The four TBMs were built by LOVAT - A Caterpillar Company, in Etobicoke, Ontario.
This particular segment of the TYSSE is being bored by "Yorkie" and "Torkie". The machines will bore a little over one kilometre of twin tunnels at a rate of approximately 15 metres a day, southeast from this launch location to an extraction site.
The TYSSE project is an 8.6-kilometre extension of the Toronto Transit Commission's Yonge-University-Spadina subway line from its present terminus at Downsview Station to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre at Highway 7. It will have six new stations, including one at York University and three new commuter parking lots. The subway expansion will bring the line into York Region.
The six stations along the extension are: (station names are subject to change)
- Sheppard West - on Parc Downsview Park lands
- Finch West - at the corner of Keele Street and Finch Avenue
- York University - near the common of York University
- Steeles West - at North West Gate and Steeles Avenue, east of Jane Street
- Highway 407 - adjacent to Highway 407 and Jane Street
- Vaughan Metropolitan Centre - near Highway 7 west of Jane Street
To encourage commuters to use the subway system, 2,900 new parking spaces will be built at three stations along the extension. They include:
- Finch West Station - 400 spaces
- Steeles West Station - 1,900 spaces
- Highway 407 Station - 600 spaces
Since 2006, the Government of Canada has made an unprecedented level of investment in infrastructure, including public transit in the GTA. The federal government has committed over $1.4 billion in direct contribution funding towards public transit projects in the Greater Toronto Area through the Building Canada Fund and Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund. Commitments include:
- $250 million for the GO Transit Improvement Program
- $85 million for York VIVA Phase 2, Stage 1
- $95 million for Brampton Züm Phases 1 and 2
- $83 million for Mississauga Transit
- $697 million ($622 million Building Canada Fund/$75 million Public Transit Capital Trust) for the Toronto-York Spadina subway extension
- $133 million for the Union Station Revitalization Project
Under the $4-billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund (ISF), over $100 million was committed towards public transit projects between 2009 and 2011 in the GTA.
In addition to this direct contribution funding, municipalities in the GTA have also used over $1 billion of their federal Gas Tax Fund allocation towards transit investments.
March 2013
