Ontario Construction News staff writer
Work has started on early upgrades at Finch Station in Toronto, work that will lay the groundwork for future construction on the eight-kilometre Yonge North Subway Extension.
“The upgrades at Finch Station will help keep the project running smoothly and bring us a step closer to expanding the region’s rapid transit network,” said Metrolinx project sponsor Stephen Collins.
The most noticeable work is happening along Hendon Avenue, near Yonge Street, where upgrades to the electrical infrastructure are under construction, to bring power to the new subway extension. This involves securing new heavy-duty power cables inside a protective casing and installing them underground.
Heavy-duty cables that will travel from an existing traction power substation – a building where electricity is converted to a form suitable for providing power to the subway – on Hendon Avenue to Finch Station, will be secured inside a protective casing and installed underground.
A new fire department connection will also be installed near the intersection of Yonge Street and Hendon.
The ‘tail tracks’ that support existing Line 1 service provide temporary parking space for subway trains while they’re not taking riders to and from their destinations. Changes Metrolinx is making to the tail track area involve extending the waterless sprinkler system from the existing service tracks through the tail tracks, along with new cables and other equipment that will link the future subway extension into the existing communications and support systems.
Metrolinx is working closely with the City of Toronto, the TTC and York Region Transit on the project.
A progress update on the Yonge North Subway Extension will be presented by project leaders at a virtual open house on Mar. 22 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
