North End Connectors secures contract for Yonge North Subway Extension

The North End Connectors consortium has secured a fixed-price C$1.4bn ($1.01bn) contract from Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx for the Yonge North Subway Extension tunnelling project in Canada.

This project, funded by the Government of Canada with C$2.24bn, involves construction twin 6.3km tunnels from Finch Station on TTC Line 1 to a point south of Langstaff Road in Markham, where it will transition to a surface-level segment.

The consortium comprises Aecon Infrastructure Management, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas Canada, and Ghella Canada, which are into both construction and applicant lead roles.

The design is managed by EXP Services and TYPSA, while financial advisory is provided by National Bank Financial, Aecon Concessions, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas Canada, and Ghella Investments & Partnerships.

This project is executed under a design-build-finance contract, utilising IO’s public-private partnership (P3) model.

Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said: “Today, we’re taking a major step forward as we build the Yonge North Subway Extension, revolutionising travel across the region and extending subway access to Vaughan, Markham and Richmond Hill for the first time.

“In the face of economic uncertainty and US tariffs that continue to target workers and businesses across the province, we are protecting Ontario’s economy by building the next generation of subway service that will connect Ontarians to thousands of good paying jobs and housing for years to come.”

Early works are underway, with major construction set to begin after the design phase.

The tunnelling route will extend north along Yonge Street from Finch Station, curving east along Bay Thorn Drive to south of Langstaff Road.

The scope of work under the project includes design and construction of launch and extraction shafts, twin tunnels, emergency exit buildings, and the procurement and installation of tunnel boring machines and precast concrete tunnel liners.

The Yonge North Subway Extension is expected to facilitate more than 90,000 daily trips, and put an additional 26,000 people within a 10-minute walk of transit.

It is expected to reduce travel times from Markham to downtown Toronto by up to 22 minutes and decrease personal vehicle travel by 7,700km during rush hour.

Furthermore, the project is anticipated to generate more than C$3.6bn in economic benefits and support approximately 4,300 jobs annually during construction.

Metrolinx president and CEO Michael Lindsay said: “With this contract award, we are setting the stage for major construction on the Yonge North Subway Extension.

“This project will extend TTC Line 1 subway service further north into York Region and create connections to the GO and Viva transit networks.”