Queens Quay is finally rising from the depth of underground construction! It has been a year of digging, dewatering the ground and installing new and expanded services — electricity, sewers, water supply, natural gas and telecommunication lines for phone, cable and internet connections. That was the biggest and most difficult part of Queens Quay’s revitalization and it’s nearly done. The harshest winter in memory didn’t help construction.
As the last holes on Queens Quay are being filled, crews are laying the 2.5 million red granite pavers on wide sidewalks with beautiful maple leaf patterns:
Around 240 trees are being planted in large silva cells with 30 cubic metres of soil that will nurture a boulevard of tall trees:
Curved wood benches, sleek cedar street lights and the Martin Goodman Trail will soon appear. Streetcar service is promised to resume late this summer. We are seeing fast progress laying the tracks, including the complicated TTC loop at Spadina Avenue.
Waterfront Toronto’s director of design and construction, James Roche spoke at a recent YQNA meeting and showed the brief video about Queens Quay seen above. Everybody can ask to receive emails with the latest construction news at: [email protected].
The current disruptions will likely fade in our memory next summer, when we attend the inauguration of Toronto’s premiere boulevard right in our own neighbourhood!
Photos Estelle Weynman
