Major intersections along Adelaide Street West to temporarily close for TTC streetcar track work
Adelaide-Yonge, then Adelaide-York to close to vehicles as crews install streetcar tracks, city says
The City of Toronto is warning the public about two major intersection closures coming to the downtown core in the coming days as construction crews continue to install new TTC streetcar tracks on Adelaide Street West.
First, the intersection of Adelaide and Yonge streets will fully close to vehicles for four days next week. That closure will begin at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10, and continue until 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13.
"This four-day full closure will allow the TTC streetcar track installation on Adelaide Street West between Yonge and Victoria Streets to be completed by the end of December instead of carrying over additional work, such as paving, into spring 2024," the city said in a news release Friday.
"Once the full closure is completed on Oct. 13, the intersection will re-open and Adelaide Street will remain reduced to one shared travel lane."
Then, starting Oct. 16 and lasting until mid-December, the intersection of Adelaide and York streets will be fully closed to vehicle traffic.
The city says this pre-planned closure has been moved up from its originally scheduled date of Nov. 1 "to provide crews with more space in the work zone to help manage complexities related to relocating underground utilities."
Similar to the first closure, the Adelaide-York intersection will re-open and Adelaide Street West will remain reduced to one lane for both bicycles and vehicles once the closure is completed.
During both intersection closures, the city says pedestrian access will be maintained while surrounding streets will remain open to local traffic only.
The work is part of a major construction project stretching along Adelaide from Bathurst to Parliament streets that began last year to upgrade critical water, road and cycling infrastructure, according to the city. Crews are reinstalling streetcar tracks on Adelaide between York and Victoria Streets ahead of construction on the Ontario Line — the new rapid transit route slated to cut through the downtown from the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place.
The city said it expects the TTC track installation on Adelaide to be completed by spring 2024.
"With so much construction taking place in the downtown core, drivers are advised to plan their travel in advance, expect delays, consider taking public transit, cycling or walking and obey signage around work zones for the safety of the work crews," the city said.