Local Focus: Toronto, Canada
Posted by Steve Thomas on Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Toronto is a vibrant city that offers plenty of opportunities for construction professionals. If you’ve ever thought of exploring the Great White North, Toronto is an excellent place to start with its diverse population, modern conveniences, and excellent location. Situated in southern Ontario next to Lake Ontario and a short drive to Niagara Falls, the province’s capital offers plenty of work and leisure options.
Here’s a look at some of the projects available.
Rapid Transit
With a large subway (tube) system, rapid transit works feature heavily in Toronto. One of the upcoming projects which has recently received a Notice to Proceed is the Scarborough Subway Extension. This new extension will provide a new subway line 6.2km long and associated infrastructure, with design planned to be complete by the end of 2018. The estimated cost is $3.35 billion CAD, though this is planned to be reviewed once the detailed design is completed.
Another large transit project in the works is the Relief Line in Toronto, a future rapid transit line to relieve crowding on city centre subway lines. It is divided into the Relief Line North and Relief Line South, and is estimated to cost between $6-8 billion CAD. This is currently in the early study phases, with work underway for the preliminary planning required in order to complete the Transit Project Assessment Process (TPAP), a six-month assessment process specific to projects in Ontario.
Currently under construction is the Eglinton Crosstown LRT project, a new 19km light rail line with 25 stations and stops. A consortium of four major Canadian contractors is set to deliver the new line by 2021 at a cost of $9.1 billion, under an alternative financing arrangement that sees the consortium design, build and maintain the new line for 30 years.
Highways
Rehabilitation of the city’s main concrete structure, the Gardiner Expressway, started construction in early 2018. Called the single largest construction project in the history of the City of Toronto, this $2.3 billion CAD project to maintain a 60-year-old structure is due to complete in 2021.
Highway 427 is also being extended between Toronto and Vaughan to the north east, and includes a new 6.6km, 8-lane section with three intersections, and a 4km road widening, both with toll lanes added. Construction on this $600 million CAD project began in March 2017 and is expected to be completed in 2021.
Miscellaneous Projects
A project to create a park over existing rail lines in downtown Toronto is has been recently approved in December 2017, known as Rail Deck Park. This $1.7 billion CAD project will span 8.5 hectares and create a green space in the heart of the city. Originally proposed by the city mayor, the approval means the project can advance to Stage 2 – Due Diligence and Concept Development, involving engineering studies and developing construction estimates.
A new “smart” hospital is being built in the York region of Toronto, with plans to incorporate the latest technological advances into the facilities. The Mackenzie Vaughn Hospital is a $1.3 billion CAD project that is being constructed under a public private partnership agreement. The estimated completion date is 2020.
Another interesting project is the Port Lands Flood Protection and Enabling Infrastructure project, a redevelopment of one of the largest areas of under-developed urban land in North America. Located along the shore of Lake Ontario southeast of Toronto’s city centre, the $616 million CAD project will include substantial soil remediation, a new mouth for the Don River, and critical infrastructure for flood resilience to unlock the 325-hectare site for residential and commercial development. Early construction activities began in late 2017, and excavation of the river valley is set to begin in early 2019.
The Land of Milk and Honey Maple Syrup
If the friendliest nation on Earth is somewhere you’ve always wanted to explore, Toronto is a great base to start from. Southern Ontario, in particular, is rapidly expanding, meaning that there is no shortage of interesting projects to work on. The vast expanses of beautiful, unspoilt countryside and modern downtown area offer plenty of choices for spending your time outside of work as well.
If you are interested in working in Canada, speak to us about the opportunities we currently have available.
Steve Thomas
Operations Director, UK
I am responsible for the delivery of Search Assignments, Business Development and UK Candidate Attraction Strategy. Based in Leicester and Melton Mowbray and have 20+ years experience in construction recruitment. I focus on recruiting for construction jobs in the East Midlands, West Midlands and across London and South East England.
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Email: steve@maximrecruitment.com