The Hurontario light rail transit (LRT) system isn’t quite ready to welcome its first customer, but there’s been plenty of movement across the line.

New images of ongoing work show a huge excavation effort that continues to unfold along the 18 km. route, that’s expected to open in 2024.

Want to know more about the Hurontario project? Just go here for the details.

Among the pictures, are a series from Port Credit, which are leading to ‘push box’ construction happening in November. Crews have been excavating a portion of the south and east parking lot for the construction of the push box, the structure that will help form a tunnel underneath the Lakeshore West Corridor railway tracks.

Piles will support the ground for the construction of the station box.  Excavation work includes having to dig deep enough for both the push box and station box structures and install the retaining wall that will support it.

There’s also more heavy work taking place for road widening in north Mississauga. Currently, the road widening works involve installation of curb, gutters, and subdrains, as well as backfilling and paving.

What does this all add up to?

• 4,753 cubic meters of excavation
• 8470 tons of granular placed (This is about three-quarters as heavy as the Eiffel Tower)
• 1157m of concrete curb poured
• 856m of subdrain installed (That’s about nine football fields)

And there’s work going on around Mary Fix Creek. One image shows a concrete pump (the long red machine). This specific photo was taken when crews were about to pour concrete in the walls on the north side of the channel.

A 60-foot-long corrugated steel pipe has been temporarily installed in the creek as construction progresses. Its purpose is to prevent any debris from falling into the creek and it has the capacity to withstand a hundred-year storm.

Mary Fix Creek plays an important role in Mississauga’s water infrastructure. Named after a local pioneer, city-builder and philanthropist, the creek starts at Mavis Road and Eglinton Avenue and flows through central Mississauga including a section that is parallel to Hurontario Street south of the QEW, emptying into the Credit River at the CN Bridge in Port Credit. Urban streams and creeks, like Mary Fix Creek, are important elements of local natural heritage systems which serve as habitat for local wildlife species such as squirrels, racoons, and migratory birds.

So, it’s not just about moving the Earth around the Hurontario LRT project – but saving it as well.