Construction on the maintenance facility for the Hazel McCallion LRT is nearing the finish line – and Metrolinx has a video showing the latest progress.

Once up and running, the operations, maintenance and storage facility (OMSF) will be the hub of the LRT project. Vehicles will get to and from it by travelling along Topflight Drive and over a new bridge spanning Etobicoke Creek

Installation of LRT tracks started at the OMSF yard and inside the OMSF building. This is expected to continue for the rest of 2022. While that work is progressing, construction and finishes inside the 10,634 square metre building are wrapping up.

The two-story building, located just south of Highway 407 on the border of Brampton and Mississauga, is about one-fifth as big as the Rogers Centre (51,400 square metres).

The OMSF building and yard can hold 42 light rail vehicles (LRVs) at a given time, with 12 tracks in the yard and five sets of tracks running through the building.

This is an important piece of infrastructure for the Hazel McCallion Line, because it’s where the LRVs will be inspected, maintained, cleaned and stored when they’re not taking riders down Hurontario Street.

The ground floor of the OMSF is home to a repair shop, vehicle cleaning facility and material storage, while the top floor of the building houses dedicated operation staff offices, including control rooms, meeting rooms and break rooms for staff.

“This upper part of the building really acts as the brains of the operation,” said Mobilinx superintendent Dillon Nord.

“The control rooms drive the complete 18-kilometre LRT network.”

The offices and control rooms are now complete, while mechanical and electrical works and finishes, like painting, are currently taking place on the ground floor around the interior tracks.

Concrete foundations, elevator construction and glazing are also complete, and the raised platform used to access the top of the LRVs is currently being installed and painted.

Beyond the interior workings of the OMSF, crews are also working on the Etobicoke Creek structure, an open-bottom bridge built with side walls and a flat top over an Etobicoke Creek tributary.

This will allow the LRVs to enter the OMSF, while providing a channel underneath for the creek to flow.

With the structure and exterior of the building as well as much of the interior finishes almost done, the completion of this work signals an exciting step forward for the project.