The TTC is upgrading its streetcar infrastructure at two sites on Queen Street East this weekend, starting tonight, Friday, May 27 and continuing until early Monday, May 30.
TTC crews are working:
City of Toronto contractors are also working:
To accommodate all three projects, the TTC is detouring streetcars operating along these routes from late today until early Monday:
Shuttle buses replace the cars east of Connaught Avenue and between Parliament and Church Streets. The buses operate between Neville Park Loop and University Avenue.
Near Jarvis Street
Since yesterday, Thursday, May 26, TTC track crews have been working in the area, getting ready to replace worn rails at the westbound streetcar stop.
Starting at 8:30 a.m. yesterday, a TTC track crew has occupied the westbound curb lane on Queen East, east of George Street to weld new rail into longer strings. This will reduce parking on the north side of Queen.
After 7 p.m. tonight, the TTC starts detouring streetcars, so that the track crew can start milling the concrete from the track area to expose the old rail.
Tomorrow, Saturday, May 28, the crews will remove the old rail and install, weld and grind new rail. They’ll also place new concrete in the track.
Sunday, May 29, crews will allow the new concrete time to cure before traffic can again operate over that section of the track. They’ll remove the work zone and streetcars will resume regular service by 5 a.m. Monday, May 30.
To reduce disrupting streetcar service during most of this project, the TTC is using a different method — “milling” — of removing the concrete from the track area to expose the old rail. The process removes just enough of the concrete to allow crews to remove the old rail. Often workers then use bits of the old concrete in preparing new cement to install the new rail. The TTC’s usual method of breaking concrete from the track area affected streetcar service for as long as seven days. Milling decreases the time for disrupting regular streetcar service to just three days.
The City of Toronto is restricting traffic to one lane in each direction to create a safe work zone during the rail work. It’s also temporarily prohibiting street parking through the work zone.
In Neville Park Loop
Starting at 11 p.m. tonight, Friday, May 27, TTC overhead crews are installing new streetcar overhead contact wire in the loop and a nearby section of Queen Street East. They’re upgrading the wire to keep it in a state of good repair and to prepare to operate the TTC’s new low-floor streetcars through the loop in the future.
Crews use two to three overhead trucks with hydraulic equipment during this project. You may hear beeping sounds when the trucks are reversing. You may also view bright lights from the equipment overnight.
This work requires both day and overnight shifts due to the complexity of work, the high of daytime traffic and to make sure that the TTC can resume regular streetcar service by 5 a.m. Monday.
Work at the loop continues until 8 a.m. May 29.
At Coxwell Avenue
The City of Toronto has not officially announced what work it is undertaking near the intersection with Queen Street East, but its contractors continue to work on a project (.pdf) to upgrade the watermains under Coxwell between Gerrard and Queen Streets East.
501 Queen
301 Queen overnight
From 8 p.m. Friday, May 27 until 5 a.m. Monday, May 30, westbound cars start their trips in Russell Carhouse (at Queen Street East and Connaught Avenue), then proceed:
along their regular route eastward along Queen East to Parliament Street, then detour:
southward along Parliament;
westward along King Street East;
northward along Church Street;
westward along Richmond Street East; and then
northward along Victoria Street to Queen East,
resuming their regular route westward along Queen.Westbound cars skip their regular stops
- in Neville Park Loop,
- on Queen Street East at Neville Park Boulevard, Silver Birch Avenue, Spruce Hill Road, Glen Manor Drive, Wineva and Lee Avenues, Waverley Road, Elmer and Woodbine Avenues and Lockwood and Kingston Roads, Coxwell Avenue and Kent Road,
- on Queen Street East at Ontario, Sherbourne, Jarvis, Church and Victoria Streets.
Instead, westbound cars drop off or pick up passengers at temporary stops
- on Church Street at Richmond, Adelaide and King Street East,
- on King Street East at Jarvis, Sherbourne, Ontario and Parliament Streets and
- on Parliament Street at Richmond and Queen Streets East.
Shuttle buses replace the cars east of Connaught Avenue and between Parliament and Victoria Streets. They operate between Neville Park Loop and University Avenue. Westbound streetcar passengers may transfer to westbound buses at Queen Street East and Parliament Street.
Eastbound cars operate along their regular route to Queen Street East and Church Street, then detour:
southward along Church;
eastward along King Street East; and then
northward along Parliament Street to Queen East,
resuming their regular route eastward along Queen.Eastbound cars skip their regular stops
- on Queen Street East at Jarvis, Sherbourne, Ontario and Parliament Streets,
- on Queen Street East at Connaught, Woodward, Coxwell, Sarah Ashbridge, Woodbine and Kippendavie Avenues, Waverley Road, Lee and Wineva Avenues, Scarborough Beach Boulevard, Glen Manor Drive, Maclean, Beech and Silver Birch Avenues and Neville Park Boulevard and
- in Neville Park Loop.
Instead, eastbound cars drop off or pick up passengers at temporary stops
- on Parliament Street at Richmond, Adelaide and King Streets East and
- on King Street East at Ontario, Sherbourne, Jarvis and Church Streets.
Shuttle buses replace the cars between Church and Parliament Streets and east of Connaught Avenue. They operate between University Avenue and Neville Park Loop. Eastbound streetcar passengers may transfer to eastbound buses at stops on Queen Street East at Church Street and Greenwood Avenue.
301 / 501 Queen shuttle buses
From 8 p.m. Friday, May 27 until 5 a.m. Monday, May 30, buses replace streetcars operating along the 301 Queen overnight and 501 Queen routes east of Connaught Avenue and between Parliament and Church Streets.
Westbound buses start their trips in Neville Park Loop, then proceed:
westward along Queen Streets East and West to University Avenue,
ending their trips.(Note that the TTC has not announced details about how the buses loop at the west end of their route.)
Westbound buses drop off or pick up passengers at stops
- in Neville Park Loop,
- on Queen Street East at Neville Park Boulevard, Silver Birch Avenue, Spruce Hill Road, Glen Manor Drive, Wineva and Lee Avenues, Waverley Road, Elmer and Woodbine Avenues and Lockwood and Kingston Roads, Coxwell Avenue, Kent Road, across from Connaught Avenue, at Greenwood and Alton Avenues, Jones, Brooklyn, Pape, Carlaw and Logan Avenues, west of Booth Avenue, at Howland and Broadview Avenues, River, Sumach, Sackville, Parliament, Ontario, Sherbourne, Jarvis, Church, Victoria and Yonge Streets and
- on Queen Street West at Bay Street, across from York Street and at University Avenue.
Westbound bus passengers can transfer to westbound streetcars at stops on Queen Street East at Parliament Street and University Avenue.
Eastbound buses reverse the westbound detour routing.
Eastbound buses drop off or pick up passengers at stops:
- on Queen Street West at University Avenue, York, Bay and Yonge Streets,
- on Queen Street East at Victoria, Church, Jarvis, Sherbourne, Ontario, Parliament, Sackville, Sumach and River Streets, across from Carroll Street, at Broadview Avenue, Saulter Street, Empire, Logan, Carlaw, Pape and Caroline Avenues, across from Jones Avenue, at Leslie and Laing Streets, across from Greenwood Avenue, at Connaught, Woodward, Coxwell, Sarah Ashbridge, Woodbine and Kippendavie Avenues, Waverley Road, Lee and Wineva Avenues, Scarborough Beach Boulevard, Glen Manor Drive, Maclean, Beech and Silver Birch Avenues and Neville Park Boulevard and
- in Neville Park Loop.
Eastbound bus passengers can transfer to eastbound streetcars at stops on Queen Street East at Church Street and Greenwood Avenue.
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