The ten-plus years of construction that have beset Eglinton Avenue West have earned the thoroughfare an unenviable designation as one of the worst roads in Ontario.
For the second year in a row, Eglinton Avenue West has taken second place on the CAA Worst Roads list. It ranked seventh on the list in 2021, while its eastern counterpart took the top spot in 2019. Ontario's Worst Roads are determined by public votes.
Eglinton Avenue West has been continuously under construction since 2011, when work began on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. Stretching from Mount Dennis in the west to Kennedy Avenue in the east, the 19-km transit line was supposed to open in 2020, but has faced significant delays and several lawsuits.
In 2015, the project's completion was delayed until 2021. In 2020 the opening date was pushed "well into 2022." Last September it was delayed yet again, without a new completion date, leading to calls for a public inquiry.
Further setbacks arose earlier this month when Crosslinx Transit Solutions (CTS), the construction consortium established to maintain and deliver the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, threatened to sue and stop working with the TTC, which will operate the transit line upon its eventual completion.
In 2020, CTS filed a lawsuit against Metrolinx for its "refusal" to address the impacts of COVID-19, and in 2018 it sued the transit agency over the project's timeline.
READ: Nearly Half of Canada’s 100 Most Expensive Infrastructure Projects are in Ontario
For 12 years, Eglinton Avenue West has been characterized by lane closures and detours, construction equipment and barriers, and sidewalk scaffolding and fencing.
As of February 2020, 140 small businesses had been forced to close as a result of reduced visibility and hindered access brought on by the construction. Following pressure from the City of Toronto, the provincial government agreed to provide $3M to compensate local businesses. The budget for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT is in excess of $5.6B.
Although construction continues along Eglinton Avenue West -- and the completion date for the Eglinton Crosstown LRTis now an unknown date in 2024 -- work has begun on the seven-stop Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, which will run from Mount Dennis west to Renforth Drive in Etobicoke.
