The company building the Eglinton Crosstown LRT has shut down construction on one of its stations after four workers at the site tested positive for COVID-19.
Crosslinx, the consortium building the $5.3-billion transit project, said it temporarily stopped work on Caledonia station Thursday because 30 workers had been directed to self-isolate or get tested as a result of the four positive cases, which were reported between Monday and Wednesday by subcontractors on the project. One of the four infected workers is believed to have contracted the virus on the job.
Crosslinx said none of its 23 other construction sites on the 19-kilometre line have been shuttered, and, barring additional positive tests the company plans to resume work on the underground Caledonia stop, located between Keele Street and Caledonia Road, on Monday.
Crosslinx spokesperson Kristin Jenkins said despite the company “diligently implementing COVID-19 protocols,” it was “unfortunately inevitable” that the virus would find its way onto its construction sites, as the second wave of the pandemic continues to spread throughout the city.
She said Crosslinx “has implemented all required municipal, provincial and federal COVID-19 health-and-safety measures,” including adjusting work practices to allow employees to keep a distance, one from another. According to Jenkins, the company exceeds health guidelines by requiring masks to be worn at all times, and has been actively reporting positive cases to Toronto Public Health. For the past two weeks, it has also been ticketing workers who don’t follow COVID-19 protocols, Crosslinx said.
On Jan. 6, the Star reported that
28 workers and subcontractors on the Crosstown had tested positive in the previous two weeks, causing the suspension of some work on the line. No construction sites were shut down at the time.
The massive midtown LRT project is already behind schedule, and is expected to open sometime next year at the earliest, instead of this September, as previously planned. The delays
predate the pandemic, but Crosslinx and the Province disagree over the extent to which the virus has exacerbated the problem.
Anne Marike Aikins, a spokesperson for Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency overseeing the LRT, didn’t directly answer when asked whether the organization is concerned the latest outbreak could slow construction further.
“Metrolinx has had a comprehensive plan throughout the pandemic to ensure both our own staff and customer safety and limit the transmission of the virus. Our expectations extend to all of our contractors and constructors,” she said.
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