Yesterday's news of the completion of tunnelling for Toronto's Crosstown LRT marked the end of a lengthy and complex stage for the major public transit infrastructure project. With the tunnelling stage in the books, there is still plenty of work left to accomplish before the new line's opening in the Fall of 2021. Along the route's 19-kilometre length, work has started at a number of station sites, among which is the Avenue Crosstown Station coming to the intersection of Eglinton Avenue West and Avenue Road.

Aerial of the station buildings in context, image courtesy of Metrolinx. Artist's concept, subject to change.

The first major activity at this site came a few months back, when demolition commenced on a single-storey retail building occupying the northwest corner of the intersection, the site of the station's primary entrance. Demolition also recently cleared two retail properties located mid-block between Avenue Road and Oriole Parkway at 274 and 278 Eglinton West, the future site of the station's secondary entrance and transformer.

Northwest view at the primary entrance site prior to demolition, image retrieved from Google Street View

Shoring activity at Avenue Station, image by Jack Landau

Looking northwest to the primary entrance, image courtesy of Metrolinx. Artist's concept, subject to change.

With demolition now complete, activity has shifted to shoring the sites, when steel piles, bracing, and tie-backs will be installed around their perimeters to allow for safe excavations. 

Westward view of the primary entrance site prior to demolition, image retrieved from Google Street View

Shoring activity at Avenue Station, image by Jack Landau

Looking southwest to the primary entrance, image courtesy of Metrolinx. Artist's concept, subject to change.

The primary entrance building occupying the northwest corner of Avenue and Eglinton will be excavated to a depth of approximately 24 metres, while the secondary entrance will be excavated to a depth of 32 metres. In total, the shoring and excavation phases for the two building sites are expected to take around one year to complete.

Northwards view of the secondary entrance site prior to demolition, image retrieved from Google Street View

View of secondary entrance from the south, image by Jack Landau

Looking northwest to the secondary entrance, , image courtesy of Metrolinx. Artist's concept, subject to change.

The platform area below Eglinton Avenue and the approaches to it will be built with the cut-and-cover method, also requiring excavation, stretching approximately 400 metres under Eglinton from just west of Avenue Road to Lascelles Boulevard, four blocks to the east. Beyond the 150 metre-long platform, this extra length is required for this station's turnback area and special track works.

We will return with updates as work progresses on the Crosstown. In the meantime, additional information about this station can be found in the dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.