The Ontario government has announced the start of construction on the final piece of the Ontario Line subway project in Toronto.

Under the final contract, work has started on the Don Valley Crossing Bridge and the West Don Crossing Bridge. The bridges will bring Ontario Line trains across the Don Valley toward the downtown core.

“The Ontario Line is at the centre of our government’s nearly $70 billion plan to expand public transit across the province and today’s announcement shows we are getting it done,” said Premier Doug Ford. “This transformational project is going to cut commute times for hundreds of thousands of riders every day, connecting to transit services from across the region and creating new economic opportunities all along the line.”

The Ontario Line will exit an underground tunnel on the east side of the Don Valley at Minton Place, south of the Leaside Bridge. The line will then travel over the valley on the new Don Valley Crossing and West Don Crossing bridges, connecting to elevated guideways through Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park, cutting transit times by more than half for families and workers along the line.

In Toronto’s east end, from the Lower Don River and into Leslieville, major upgrades are underway, which include new bridge construction and noise barrier installations to the above-ground rail corridor where Ontario Line trains will run.

In the north end, work is underway to prepare for major construction for the new Thorncliffe Park Station.

After beginning excavation for the Ontario Line’s King-Bathurst, Moss Park and Queen-Spadina stations and breaking ground at Pape Station, crews will soon start excavating Corktown and Osgoode stations. Corktown Station will give thousands of riders access to the nearby Distillery District while the Ontario Line Osgoode Station will link directly to the TTC’s Line 1 (Yonge-University) and give more than 12,000 daily rush-hour commuters a new, vital interchange connection that will help reduce crowding at Union Station by 14 percent.

Once complete, the Ontario Line will have 15 stations, running from Exhibition Place through the downtown core and connecting to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road. The line will offer more than 40 connections to other subway, bus, streetcar and regional train services, reducing daily car trips by at least 28,000.

“People need more public transit options to travel around our city. The Ontario Line will help generations of Torontonians get to work, school or run errands around Toronto – without having to drive,” said Olivia Chow, Mayor of Toronto. “It’s a historic investment and I’m pleased that it is well underway. Working together, we can build a more convenient, reliable, affordable and safe public transit system.”

The project is part of the province’s four priority transit projects, which include the largest subway expansion in Canadian history: the Ontario Line, the Scarborough Subway Extension, the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and the Yonge North Subway Extension.

Construction work on the Ontario Line alone is expected to support 4,700 jobs annually over the next decade.