Hey everyone, at the end of June I walked the Finch West LRT corridor so in today’s
video we’ll be taking a look at the construction progress of the Finch West LRT project from
Finch West Station to Humber College at Highway 27.
I’ll be comparing the progress to some footage from december of 2021 but consider checking
out my previous video if you’re interested in seeing how much progress has been made
in the last few months.
At Finch and Keele work is beginning to reach the surface with concrete pours taking place.
Tracks are currently being installed at the eastern portal but aside from that it’s
looked largely complete since december of 2021.
The electrified overhead wiring and the burn-in track used for train testing both end at Sentinel
but the guidway is almost complete from Sentinel to Romfield lane with catenary poles installed.
Some platform construction has started at Sentinel although it’s still in the early
stages of construction.
Platforms are a little farther along at Tobermory with concrete pours complete bringing it to
about the same level of progress as Driftwood and Jane.
At Driftwood, platform construction has continued although platforms had already started to
be built last year.
Like the other eastern stops, platforms are being built at Jane with the ramps complete.
The next steps for the platforms will be adding shelters, tactile strips and barriers similar
to what is seen on Eglinton East.
The tracks and wiring have been built on York Gate Blvd which connects to the almost complete
testing track on finch.
Transit signals have also been built and activated at the York Gate Blvd and Finch intersections
although it seems they are stuck on red.
Just west of York Gate Blvd is where the completed section of track ends.
The maintenance and storage facility has looked about the same for a while now as it’s already
being used to test and store the light rail vehicles.
Unfortunately trains weren’t testing the day I went but from a very zoomed in video
it looks like the first LRV to be delivered is being stored inside the facility on track
1E.
At Highway 400 a lot of progress has been made with the guidway being built and caterney
poles being installed nearby.
At Weston road work and utility relocation is ongoing but construction of the guidway
doesn’t seem to have started yet.
Just west of Milvan almost nothing has visibly changed but this is one of only a few sections
of the project where not much has happened recently.
Located in Finchdale Plaza is the Finch West Community Office where you can go for information
about the project.
Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed in and the office hours weren’t posted so I’m not
too sure what they have to offer.
The bridge at Islington and Finch going over the Humber River was raised 6 millimeters
and has now been repaved.
From Islington to Kipling a lot of work has been done in the past few months and as we
get farther west the guidway is barely built but it’s an interesting way to see the different
stages of guidway construction.
Work was also going on to cut the rail to size.
From Kipling to Silverstone the guidway is starting to take shape and should be ready
for track installation soon.
Near Albion the road is being dug up to make space for the guidway so I would expect guidway
construction to start by the end of the summer.
At Martin Grove construction is still in the early stages of work as the road has only
started to be dug up for the guidway.
A couple blocks west of Martin Grove tracks have been built through the intersection of
Finch and John Garland and the road has been dug up on both sides of the intersection.
The frame of the western portal is complete but the tracks still need to be laid and catenary
poles need to be installed.
East of westmore the road is being dug up to make space for the guidway.
Road repaving has also taken place from Highway 27 to Westmore.
Concrete pours are currently taking place and about half of the below-grade section
along Highway 27 now has concrete walls.
Humber college station is coming along with excavation almost done and concrete pours
taking place on the walls.
What appears to be the first structural pillars for the station entrance are now in place
as well.
The construction site at Humber College is very large even though the station itself
is relatively small so the space was presumably used for material storage.
Unfortunately the Humber College bus terminal which is used by four transit agencies is
a 200m walk from the LRT entrance leading for a long walk through a parking lot.
Seeing as most of the route is at street level I would estimate that the majority of construction
will be complete by early 2023 with an October or November 2023 opening date.
Thanks for watching