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Once Toronto's bedroom suburb, Mississauga is transforming into a thriving city. With an expanding city centre, new residents, businesses and students are rapidly moving in and calling Canada's 6th largest city home. To support this growth, transit is a key component. Metrolinx and MiWay (formerly Mississauga Transit) are currently constructing the Mississauga Transitway across the heart of the city.
The new $259 million Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line will stretch 18 kilometres once finished in 2017. The BRT will run from Winston Churchill Boulevard in the west to the Renforth Gateway Mobility Hub in the east, with connections to Kipling Subway Station. Both Miway and GO Transit buses will use the Transitway, providing better service to surrounding communities while decreasing congestion.
The BRT is a grade-separated Right-of-Way (ROW) ensuring rapid, uninterupted service along the corridor. Work on the project has been progressing steadily and Phase I is set to open in 2013. Phase I will extend from the City Centre Terminal at Square One, east to Dixie Road, with four stations opening.
The ROW will parallel major thoroughfares like Highway 403 and Eglinton Avenue while using a series of bridges and tunnels to cross the busy intersecting roads and maintain premium service.
Across the route, 12 stations designed by IBI Group are being built for the project. The new modern stations will be heated and include escalators and elevators as needed to provide comfort and accessibility to all customers. Kiss & Ride drop off areas and over 1100 new parking spaces will also be provided to encourage transit use.
After the first four stations open later this year, an expanded station will open at Square One next year, followed by several more stations, both to the west and to the east in 2015. A new MiWay terminal is scheduled to open at Kipling Subway station in 2017, while bus only ramps will open along the 427 at Dundas and Eglinton this year. GO Transit will not use the Mississauga Transitway until more than the first phase is complete.
The new Transitway is part of Metrolinx's larger plans to have a series of rapid transit lines criss crossing Peel Region. Included as part of this in Metrolinx's Next Wave Projects are the Hurontario-Main LRT, Dundas BRT, and Brampton Queen Street BRT lines. The Transitway will also be a major piece of a 100km busway stretching from Oakville to Pickering.
With design work complete and constrction on Phase II underway, riders in the rest of the city can expect rapid transit to reach them soon, and UrbanToronto will keep you informed. An official blog has also been set up with construction pictures and facts to keep the public up to date. To see what people are saying about the project, join our Forum discussion or post a comment below and be part of the conversation.
