Excavation for Yonge North Subway Extension Tunnel Launch Shaft Completed

Ontario Government

TORONTO - The Ontario government finished excavating the tunnel launch shaft for the Yonge North Subway Extension.

Last August, RT&S reported Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx were close to breaking ground on major construction on the Extension. Now, the Ontario Government has finished excavation of the tunnel launch shaft. This is a major milestone in relieving “gridlock access across the Greater Toronto Area by expanding access to fast, affordable and reliable public transit.” The Yonge North Subway Extension project will extend the TTC’s Line 1 subway eight kilometers north and includes five new stations: Steeles, Clark, Royal Orchard, Bridge and High Tech.

In preparation for the tunnel launch shaft site, crews dug 70,000 cubic meters of soil. Here, two tunnel boring machines will dig twin tunnels, measuring 6.3 kilometers long. According to the release, the launch shaft extends 10 meters underground and requires 11,000 cubic meters of concrete and 860 tons of steel reinforcement.

Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria said, “Our government is making historic investments in public transit to protect Ontario’s economy and keep people moving in the face of tariffs and economic uncertainty. . . The Yonge North Subway Extension will bring subway service to Markham and Richmond Hill for the first time ever, relieving gridlock and connecting thousands of people to housing and good-paying jobs.”