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Construction will reach a milestone this weekend on the Lower Don Crossing, a new bridge for Ontario line 3 that is set to be slid into its permanent position over the river and the Don Valley Parkway. Located to the immediate west of the future East Harbour GO and Ontario Line station south of Eastern Avenue, the crossing will provide the space for two more sets of tracks into the East Harbour transit hub, a new station also currently being constructed by Metrolinx that will be served by GO Trains, Ontario Line 3, and TTC surface routes. Designed by HDR, the new bridge is part of the widening of the rail corridor to six tracks in this area, previously three tracks before construction, currently will only two tracks open as work proceeds. Having accommodated GO and VIA rail services for years, those two services will share a new fourth track via the existing bridge over the Don, while Ontario Line 3 services cross via the new bridge.
This weekend’s work centres on the lateral shift of the eastern half of the Lower Don Crossing over the Don Valley Parkway, requiring full closures of sections of the DVP and Gardiner Expressway from late tonight through early Monday morning. Preparatory works in recent weeks have included staging the assembled bridge span, installing temporary works, completing inspections, and coordinating crane and access equipment. UrbanToronto last provided an update on the station’s ground breaking in June, 2025.
The eastern half of the new Lower Don Crossing is shown last weekend, below, fully assembled and staged for its upcoming lateral move over the Don Valley Parkway. The steel bridge superstructure sits on temporary supports at the river’s edge, with its decking in place. A large red lattice-boom crane stands at the centre, while an orange telescopic boom lift in the lower foreground provides elevated access for crew members.
Looking northeast, the side-by-side bridges can be seen spanning the river corridor. While the new bridge rests on temporary supports, orange-painted construction equipment is parked across the deck. Below, traffic continues along the Don Valley Parkway, the weekend closure allowing the shift of this section eastwards. To the east, the work zone widens into a staging area of equipment, materials, with temporary access routes associated with building the future station. Orange tarps indicate the construction of an underpass for the future extension of Broadview Avenue further south.
Meanwhile, further east just beyond where the station will be, preparatory works to widen the rail corridor over Eastern Avenue continues. Formwork, shoring, and framing beneath the future infrastructure is in place, the active work zones highlighted by more orange tarp, safety netting, and weather protection. A mobile crane is positioned at the southwest corner to handle material placement and rigging, while crews work within the tightly constrained Eastern Avenue underpass environment. Above, active GO and VIA rail tracks are positioned in the easternmost part of the corridor.
Recently, looking to the north from a passing GO Train, crews are seen completing final preparatory work on the Lower Don Crossing’s steel superstructure in the days leading up to its scheduled repositioning, with access equipment and personnel distributed along the deck. An orange articulating boom lift at left carries a worker, while additional crews operate at grade.
Once the bridge shift is complete, attention will turn to works tying the crossing into the expanded rail corridor and the construction of the East Harbour station itself. The DVP and Gardiner closures are scheduled to end on Monday, February 2, after which traffic will resume while work continues above and around the corridor toward delivering one of the GTA’s most significant new transit nodes over the coming years.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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UrbanToronto's research and data service, UTPro, provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe—from proposal through to completion. Other services include Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
