A busy TTC subway station transformed into a construction site this week, going under the knife for an improvement project set to last until early 2027.
The transit agency announced yesterday that, starting as early as Monday, “Spadina Station will undergo an escalator modernization project” that will continue for well over two years as part of the TTC’s broader escalator modernization project.
According to the TTC, the two escalators linking the streetcar concourse with the station’s Line 2 subway platforms, first installed in the late 1970s, are now nearing the end of their lifespan.
The TTC states that these escalators will be “taken out of service and replaced one at a time,” with the work to kick off with the removal and replacement of the Line 2 eastbound escalator.
Once this escalator is replaced, the TTC will proceed with the replacement of the escalator connecting the concourse level and Line 2 westbound platform.
Work areas will be surrounded by protective hoarding to safely separate the active transit hub from the demolition and subsequent installation of new escalators.
Commuters are advised to use the station’s elevators or stairs to bypass out-of-commission escalators during construction.
TTC
While the scale of work here is relatively minor compared to other TTC capital improvement projects, it may compound the already miserable experience of commuters transiting Spadina Avenue, where an ongoing streetcar overhead infrastructure upgrade project has caused mayhem for transit users this summer.
Other future improvements coming to Spadina Station include planned upgrades to existing elevators at the streetcar platform and replacement of subway vents and fans on both Spadina’s Line 1 and Line 2 platforms.
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