Update — Thursday, February 6, 5:32 p.m.: Metrolinx is proceeding with the work, the City is closing the street and the TTC is detouring buses from 6 a.m. Friday, February 7 until 7 a.m. Monday, February 10.

Update — Friday, January 31, 8:45 a.m.: According to @TTCHelps, Metrolinx has postponed the work and the TTC has cancelled the diversion.

Update — Thursday, January 30, 6:37 p.m.: Phase Four occurs from 5 a.m. Friday, January 31 until 8 a.m. Monday, February 3. The TTC is detouring buses along the 87 Cosburn and 322 Coxwell overnight routes.

Metrolinx is building the Ontario Line subway between Exhibition Place / Ontario Place and the area near the former Ontario Science Centre, through downtown Toronto.

To accommodate future excavation and construction of Cosburn Station, contractors are relocating the sewer under Pape Avenue south of Cosburn Avenue, starting as early as Wednesday, November 13. They’ll build the new sewer using a micro-tunnelling machine under the laneway west of Pape.

They’ll complete the project through five phases.

Phase One and Phase Two require about three months for crews to complete.

During phase 1 the work zone completely blocks Gowan Avenue between Pape and west of the laneway and a section of the laneway north of Gowan. Work zones also occupy traffic lanes on Pape. The laneway remains accessible from Cosburn. During this phase, crews replace sewer infrastructure on Gowan and connect it to the sewer under Pape. They also relocate water-main infrastructure.

Phase 1A - The work zone blocks centre lanes on Pape.

• One lane of traffic in each direction is available on Pape.
• Access to Gowan from Pape is unavailable.
• Pedestrians can cross at the north-south crosswalk on the west side of Pape at Cosburn.
• The north sidewalk on Gowan is unavailable between Pape and the laneway west of Pape.
• TTC passengers aboard buses along these routes can expect delays: 72C Pape and 325 Don Mills overnight.

Phase 1B - The work zone blocks both southbound lanes on Pape.

• One lane of traffic in each direction is available on Pape.
• Access to Gowan from Pape is unavailable.
• Pedestrians can’t cross at the north-south crosswalk on the west side of Pape at Cosburn..
• Pedestrians walking north-south along Pape must use the sidewalk on the east side of the street. They can access the east sidewalk at crosswalks at Cosburn and Floyd avenues.
• TTC passengers aboard buses along these routes can expect delays: 72C Pape and 325 Don Mills overnight.

During Phase 2 the work zone continues to block Gowan between Pape and west of the laneway and a section of the laneway north of Gowan. The laneway remains accessible from Cosburn. During this phase, crews build the launch shaft for the micro-tunnelling machine and then launch it.

• All traffic lanes on Pape are available to vehicles.
• Access to Gowan from Pape is unavailable.
• Four parking spaces on the north side of Gowan are unavailable.
• Pedestrians on the north side of Gowan must walk north around the work zone through the laneway.

Phase Three requires six days for crews to complete. The work zone continues to close Gowan between Pape and west of the laneway, the entire laneway between Cosburn and Gowan and and also blocks part of Cosburn beside the laneway. During this phase, crews build the receiving shaft for the micro-tunneling machine.

• All traffic lanes on Pape are available to vehicles.
• Access to Gowan from Pape is unavailable.
• One lane is available to traffic in each direction on Cosburn.
• Bicycles and vehicular traffic share the available lanes in a single file.
• Pedestrians can’t cross at the crosswalk on the south side of Cosburn north of the laneway; they have to cross north of the work zone.
• TTC passengers aboard buses along these routes can expect delays: 87A / 87C Cosburn and 322 Coxwell overnight.

Phase Four requires 54 hours for crews to complete. The work zone blocks all lanes of Cosburn between Pape and west of the laneway and continues to close Gowan between Pape and west of the laneway. During this phase, crews connect the new sewer infrastructure with the older sewer infrastructure at Cosburn.

• All traffic lanes on Cosburn west of Pape are unavailable to vehicles.
• All traffic lanes on Pape are available.
• Access to Gowan from Pape is unavailable.
• The work zone blocks pedestrian access on the south side Cosburn, but is available on the north side.
• One lane is available to traffic in each direction on Cosburn.
• The TTC is detouring buses along these routes: 87A / 87C Cosburn and 322 Coxwell overnight.

Phase Five requires one week for crews to complete. The work zone blocks part of the westbound traffic lane on Cosburn. During this phase, crews install the gate valve.

• One traffic lane in each direction is available to vehicles on Cosburn west of Pape.
• All traffic lanes on Pape are available.
• Motorists cannot turn left onto Cosburn from the laneway.
• TTC passengers aboard buses along these routes can expect delays: 87A / 87C Cosburn and 322 Coxwell overnight.

Crews work 24 hours a day, Mondays to Saturdays, except during phase four, when crews work continuously for 54 hours over a weekend.

They use an excavator, front-end loader, skid steers, shoring boxes, concrete trucks and dump trucks. During micro-tunnelling work, they also use a crane, micro-tunnel boring machine and other equipment like generators and water tanks.

Nearby residents and business people can expect to hear noise and feel vibration from construction activities.

Work to relocate the sewer near the future Cosburn Station continues for “approximately four (4) months”, meaning as late as until March 14, 2025.