Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown just entered its 14th year of construction

November 9 marked a bitter milestone for the delay-plagued Eglinton Crosstown LRT, with the never-ending construction of the problem-riddled transit line officially entering its 14th year.

Yes, you heard that right. Year 14.

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT celebrated its ground-breaking ceremony back on Nov. 9, 2011 with a projected 2020 opening. That deadline is now a distant memory, and while the line appears more or less complete as of late 2024, the station doors remain locked.

More than thirteen since the project’s celebratory start and four years after the initial projected opening window, the public still has virtually no idea when the line will open with its 19 kilometres of track serving 25 stations and stops along Eglinton Avenue.

To put this immensely overdue project timeline into perspective, let’s take a quick trip back to 2011 to get an idea of how different the world was when the Crosstown began construction.

Toronto’s population has grown substantially since the Crosstown was started, with the city’s resident base rising from 2,615,060 in 2011 to 2,832,718 in 2024.

This growth has manifested in an onslaught of tall towers, including a high concentration of new buildings, active construction sites and planned developments hugging the Crosstown’s route.

However, many can’t afford to buy these homes.

In 2011, the average home in Toronto would have run you an average of $388,200. That same home would cost you about $1,135,215 as of October 2024, according to the latest data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.

The culture in Toronto was also a whole lot different 14 some odd years ago.

Rob Ford had just been elected Mayor the previous October, shaking up the Toronto political scene with a ripple effect that can still be felt to this day.

YouTube was only five years old back in 2011, and the only TikTok anyone knew about was the previous year’s hit song, “Tik Tok” by Kesha. “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele was 2011’s biggest tune.

Elsewhere in the music world, Drake may be synonymous with Toronto’s hip-hop scene these days, but in 2011, the artist was still fresh off his Degrassi days and had just released his debut album, Thank Me Later, the year before.

The top-grossing movie of 2011 was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, while The King’s Speech was crowned Best Picture at the 83rd Academy Awards.

And, it should go without saying how substantially the world of technology has changed since the Crosstown started construction.

The smartphone finally achieved market dominance back in 2011, when Apple’s iPhone 4S sold 60 million units, and all the top-selling phones running iOS or Android.

Only one year earlier, the comparatively basic Nokia 1280 sold 100 million units and smartphones were still considered a luxury.

It’s a very different world from what people knew in 2011, but how much more may change before the Crosstown finally opens?

Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster pledged to notify the public three months ahead of the line’s opening. With no such notice given as of mid-November, the Crosstown will not welcome riders until at least mid-February.