Metrolinx Restoration of Small’s Creek Included in Lakeshore East GO Line Construction

New retaining walls alongside the Lakeshore East GO Line which enable crews to install a new track.

Courtesy of Metrolinx

TORONTO – Metrolinx will begin construction on a new boardwalk to connect a neighborhood in east Toronto to a local ravine.

For the last two years, Metrolinx says it has been working on making room for additional track and future electrification on the Lakeshore East GO line. Some of that work requires the transit agency to use a portion of the ravine. Now, the area is able to be restored.

Metrolinx says that due to a “new culvert in place in the North Williamson Ravine, Small’s Creek can flow easily underneath the nearby GO Train tracks.” Now, the agency can restore the previous dirt walking path with a new wooden boardwalk. This boardwalk will connect two sections of existing boardwalk on either side of the ravine.

During construction to widen tracks, Metrolinx removed vegetation in the area, and it was able to reduce its footprint to save 60 trees by working with vegetation specialists. It found “nearly 70% of the trees and shrubs were invasive species,” and the “restoration will include native plants, shrubs, and trees.” In working with the community and local officials, the restoration of the area includes “the planting of hundreds of new native plants, shrubs and trees, including species such as American witch-hazel, buttonbush and fragrant sumac, to name a few.” The restoration work is said to start this spring and conclude in late summer.