York Region has finished preparing Yonge Street north of Davis Drive for a massive road widening project that will take place over the next three years.
The region announced it has completed the advanced construction phase of the project in a winter update. Over the past several months, the region has done work on the roadway to get it ready for expansion, including relocating utilities, building retaining walls and temporary sidewalks, replacing storm sewers and installing new hydro poles.
“Thank you, residents and travellers, for your patience while improvements are underway,” the region said in a news release.
The project aims to meet travel needs and growth along the corridor. Lanes will be expanded from four to six lanes over the next few years. Advance work that took place over the past year was done to facilitate that expansion.
Some of the construction completed over the past few months has included installing 68 hydro poles through a partnership with NT Power, relocating traffic signals at Upper Canada Mall, adding retaining walls and adding new traffic signals at the entrance to Canadian Tire and the Food Basics plaza.
But the work is far from over. The next phase of construction will begin later this year and is expected to take until 2027. It will include road widening, sidewalk construction, creating a centre median to reserve space for future rapid transit, and streetscaping.
The region advised drivers to plan ahead and give plenty of time to get to a destination once construction gets underway.
“We will monitor traffic flow and adjust signal timing to keep traffic moving as efficiently as possible,” the region said.
You can get project updates at york.ca/YongeStreet.
