Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx announced on February 28 that they have selected a team led by engineers HDR to act as the technical advisory group on construction of the Ontario Line rapid transit line.

The $10.9-billion project will run across 16 kilometres between Ontario Place/Exhibition through downtown Toronto to the Ontario Science Centre. Current plans for the line include 15 stations, including 17 new connections to GO Transit, subway, LRT and streetcar lines.

Expected to accommodate nearly 400,000 daily boardings, the Ontario Line will provide relief to TTC’s Line 1, serve fast-growing areas such as Liberty Village, and bring transit to underserviced neighbourhoods such as Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park.

“The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is experiencing unprecedented growth,” said HDR senior vice president Tyrone Gan, principal-in-charge on the project. “Expanding the transit system is essential to connect people to jobs, schools and their communities. The Ontario Line represents an exciting investment for Toronto, one that will not only provide relief for the existing subway system but will also create connections with the existing and planned transit network

As technical advisor, HDR and partners Mott MacDonald, Stantec, Systra and Comtech will provide planning, engineering, environmental, design and construction oversight services with the goal of successful, timely project delivery.

Initial planning and design work is already underway, and the Ontario Line is scheduled to be in service by 2027.

The Ontario Line is one of four rapid-transit projects announced in Ontario's 2019 budget as part of its new Subway Transit Plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The other three projects include the Yonge North Subway Extension, the Scarborough Subway Extension, and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.

Meanwhile, Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx have also opened the procurement processes to recruit advisors for other portions of the projects.

An RFP has been issued for the program controls services consultant (PCSC) for the subway program. The PCSC provides overall project controls services and oversees schedule, risk management and cost estimating functions of the subways program. That contract is expected to be awarded in the spring.

RFPs have also been issued for technical advisors for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and for the Scarborough Subway Extension and the Yonge North Subway Extension projects. These contracts are also expected to be awarded in the spring.