Two busy TTC streetcar lines will be a total mess for four entire months

Two of the TTC’s busiest streetcar lines will be impacted by a long-term project to replace an aging watermain and streetcar tracks, with work set to begin next week and last until June.

Passengers relying on the TTC’s 509 Harbourfront and 511 Bathurst streetcars can expect months of headaches due to the upcoming construction project that is expected to last from February 16 to June 21. 

The Bathurst St., Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Fleet St. intersection will be torn up in just a few days for a project TTC Chair Jamaal Myers calls “crucial to maintaining state-of-good-repair on the TTC system.”

“TTC teams are working hard to ensure that there are alternative routes available for customers and will be monitoring service and making adjustments as needed,” said Myers.

The 511 Bathurst will operate on a modified routing from February 16 all the way to June 21, with streetcars running from Bathurst Station to King St. W. at Spadina Ave., and 511B Bathurst replacement buses operating from Bathurst St. at Queen St. W. to Exhibition Loop.

Just one day after that route change goes into effect, on February 17 and lasting until March 29,  509 Harbourfront streetcars will only serve the stretch between Union Station and Spadina Ave. The rest of the route will be covered by 509B Harbourfront replacement bus service.

And it will only get worse from there, with service on the 509 to be halted altogether from March 30 until June 21, leaving the 510A Spadina streetcar as the primary option to travel between Union Station and Spadina Ave.

“We appreciate that construction and route diversions can be challenging, and we are making every effort to ensure that customers are aware of the upcoming diversions, as well as know how to use alternate routes to get to their destinations,” said TTC CEO Greg Percy. 

“I want to thank customers for their patience as we carry out this critical infrastructure work.”

It’s going to be a huge headache for commuters, but the TTC says that this plan was chosen to minimize disruption.

The transit agency states that the project is being carried out in phases “to avoid a full closure of the Bathurst St. and Lake Shore Blvd. W. intersection.”