Construction began on the eastern portion of the Eglinton Crosstown tunnel with a ceremonial flip of a switch.
A boring machine began chewing its way west during a media event on Eglinton Avenue on Thursday morning. City officials met reporters just west of Leslie Street, to mark the start of the next phase of construction on the Eglinton Crosstown project.
Thursday's ground breaking was largely ceremonial, with full construction scheduled to begin next week.
Starting Tuesday, Sept. 29, two tunnel boring machines nicknamed "Don" and "Humber" will begin digging a 3.3-kilometre path toward Yonge Street.
Two other machines - "Dennis" and "Lea" - began boring at Black Creek Drive in June 2013, heading east toward Yonge.
The tunnel is being dug approximately 15 metres under the surface of Eglinton Avenue. Completion of the eastern portion of the tunnel is expected late next year.
The construction is the next step in a 25-year, $50 billion plan launched by Metrolinx in 2008. When completed, the light rail transit line will run across Eglinton Avenue between Weston Road and Kennedy Station. The 19-kilometre track includes a 10-kilometre underground portion between Kipling Avenue and Laird Drive.
Service is expected to begin in 2021, according to Metrolinx, which is a year behind schedule.
