This major project involving the Highway 400 crossing at Toronto’s Finch Avenue, is now 50 per cent complete. This past weekend (June 12-14) saw construction crews replace the southbound lanes and next weekend they will do the northbound lanes. Thanks to an engineering process that dramatically speeds up the replacement, the disruptions will be kept to a minimum. Here’s how the first weekend was constructed on social media.
The first weekend of major bridge work for the Finch West light rail transit project is in the books – told, in short chapters, on Twitter.
When it’s done, the Finch West LRT line will pass below the existing Highway 400 Bridge at Finch Avenue West. Construction of the line has accelerated the Province of Ontario’s plan to rehabilitate the Highway 400 Bridge.
You can be excused if you weren’t glued to your phone all weekend, so here’s a look at ohow it went in real-time social media updates:
.@MosaicTransit is working around the clock to excavate and cut away the existing Hwy. 400 SB bridge. Soon, they’ll lift and remove it to a temporary site. pic.twitter.com/w30GECtdyY
— Finch West LRT (@FinchWestLRT) June 13, 2020
Work started early Saturday morning (June 13) and Mother Nature was definitely cooperating.
In the video posted below, you can see how one of the most important steps takes place. The chunks of the bridge come pre-assembled and that helps get things done quickly.
Check out this video showing the crew rotating the new SB bridge and getting it ready to move it into place. pic.twitter.com/RGHsYx2SvU
— Finch West LRT (@FinchWestLRT) June 14, 2020
Transit fans had some solid questions about the work and the answers might surprise you.
Each new bridge span weighs 1,500 tonnes. Here’s a snapshot from the fact sheet we shared yesterday that provides some more details. ^LS pic.twitter.com/LE0jUYWwTu
— Finch West LRT (@FinchWestLRT) June 14, 2020
As the weekend draws to a close, it took a lot of trucks full of asphalt to get the job done.
As the sun sets, down to the home stretch… Asphalt trucks are lined up and ready to pave the new SB bridge before re-opening highway 400 back to traffic. pic.twitter.com/mvqfMovaz4
— Finch West LRT (@FinchWestLRT) June 15, 2020
More good news. Whether it was the good weather or just good planning – the work was done ahead of schedule.
Traffic Update 🚨: Finch Ave. W. opened to traffic ahead of schedule at 3:45 am. The Hwy. 400 lanes opened at 5am, except for lane 5 & the Finch Ave. ramps, which are expected to open at 6am. pic.twitter.com/ZUi6IxCibj
— Finch West LRT (@FinchWestLRT) June 15, 2020
While the photos are great, fans of the project are calling for video – and we’ve heard your call.
For sure! The full time-lapse video will include the whole operation from beginning to end. Stay tuned 🤩 ^LS
— Finch West LRT (@FinchWestLRT) June 14, 2020
That was fun right? Well we enjoyed the first weekend so much, we’re going to do it all again next week. Next up, the northbound section.
Amazing!
— 🏒Frank Gregoire (@FrankGregoire1) June 15, 2020
From sunset to sunrise… the weekend RBR operation for the SB direction is now complete and Hwy. 400 and Finch Ave. W. are fully reopened, including all the Finch Ave. on-ramps.
We’ll be doing the NB direction next weekend, starting Friday, June 19. pic.twitter.com/a3bUQHXUdw
— Finch West LRT (@FinchWestLRT) June 15, 2020