[Carpe Diem]

Took a quick jaunt down to the East Don Trail to see what if anything was happening. Crews are working on the bridge area (1st bridge coming from the south), tunnel sections have gotten more colourful over the winter. Hopefully this is an indication of an actual date of install for the last section.

 

[Ben Aylsworth]

Rode through today. The 'work bridge' construction is underway, and they've cleared some trees at the tunnel site. Nice to see work getting done.

 

[DSCToronto]

Good to see workers but it all looks terribly unchanged from my trip there a year ago.

 

[mburrrrr]

The tunnel under this track? North or west side.

New railing and pavement as mentioned earlier towards Bermondsey transformer station.

 

[paraone]

wondering if this trail is passable on a bike yet? can you get through where the tunnel is supposed to be built? anything keeping people out from being able to traverse it's route other than the gap for the the tunnel? I'm assuming you can just dismount and walk over the tracks there to continue?

 

[DSCToronto]

wondering if this trail is passable on a bike yet? can you get through where the tunnel is supposed to be built? anything keeping people out from being able to traverse it's route other than the gap for the the tunnel? I'm assuming you can just dismount and walk over the tracks there to continue?

Not sure about now, but in late summer 2024 it was THEORETICALLY possible to traverse the whole route but the 'missing link' was 'challenging' and we gave up. (Fences, swamp, tracks etc)

 

[mburrrrr]

They were working on the bridge this week and surveying by the tunnel which was clear cut.
It looks like they are/were working on the communication relocation.
The fence is properly pulled back with some new stones. Probably for the workers and not the public.

The existing bridge supports look suspect with the high water level this week.

Downstream with my drone, you can see the bridge supports need some work.

 

[CityRider]

Not sure about now, but in late summer 2024 it was THEORETICALLY possible to traverse the whole route but the 'missing link' was 'challenging' and we gave up. (Fences, swamp, tracks etc)

I may have tried this last September with a friend from out of town, because the google map erroneously showed the trail as continuous and not broken by the railway tracks. We may have ended up crossing the tracks and getting covered in mud down the hill on the other side, and finding our way back to paved roads eventually. Can't confirm though.

 

[Northern Light]

The existing bridge supports look suspect with the high water level this week.


Downstream with my drone, you can see the bridge supports need some work.

View attachment 641972

Please report the issue w/the bridge supports to Metrolinx:

Contact Us | About Us | Metrolinx

We welcome your comments and questions about Metrolinx.

www.metrolinx.com

Pick the 'Safety and Security' category and highlight the need for an engineer to inspect. If you can clearly identify the location, that's idea, but if not just describe as closely as possible.

Bala Sub (Richmond Hill Line) between 'x' and 'y'

While an imminent failure doesn't seem likely, should that come to pass with a fully loaded GO train atop......bad would not begin to describe that.

 

[mburrrrr]

Please report the issue w/the bridge supports to Metrolinx:

Contact Us | About Us | Metrolinx

We welcome your comments and questions about Metrolinx.

www.metrolinx.com

Pick the 'Safety and Security' category and highlight the need for an engineer to inspect. If you can clearly identify the location, that's idea, but if not just describe as closely as possible.

Bala Sub (Richmond Hill Line) between 'x' and 'y'

While an imminent failure doesn't seem likely, should that come to pass with a fully loaded GO train atop......bad would not begin to describe that.

Done. Thanks for the link!
I also asked when the tunnel was going to be installed.

You can blame me if this is now held up indefinitely as they will be tunneling 80m away. You think they would have looked at this in their environmental assessment. That whole ridge looks scary but what do I know.

 

[DSCToronto]

Done. Thanks for the link!
I also asked when the tunnel was going to be installed.

You can blame me if this is now held up indefinitely as they will be tunneling 80m away. You think they would have looked at this in their environmental assessment. That whole ridge looks scary but what do I know.

View attachment 642057

Yes, you and the Safety Dog will be held responsible for any (more) delays!!

 

[PL1]

Yes, you and the Safety Dog will be held responsible for any (more) delays!!

Indeed, beatings shall resume until morale improves (or ML finally finishes this tunnel)

 

[Northern Light]

Done. Thanks for the link!

You're welcome.

You think they would have looked at this in their environmental assessment.

You mean the one that got its last approval 8 full years ago......and was being worked on 10 years ago? That one? LOL

I may have had a look at that project back then....... I don't remember the rail bridge looking near that bad then.

The slope, however, was an issue then. Though its certainly gotten worse since. Ideally the slope would be re-graded to 45 degrees, but it could be made stable at a somewhat steeper grade. But it needs terraforming, some sort of protection against undermining, and then extensive seeding/planting to prevent ongoing erosion.

I'd have to have a better look to give it a vaguely educated guess....but its a very big project.

That whole ridge looks scary but what do I know.

Plenty. It is.

View attachment 642057

 

[Carpe Diem]

I love that this thread is getting updates. Looking forward to a few finished products in near future in "The Don".
- East Don Trail southern section
- Lower Don Trail
- Cudmore Creek
- Leaside Valley Bridge

There is a mountain bike trail that used to traverse the middle of the slope discussed about, but it has eroded away. It now goes over the top along the fence line (one of the best spots in the Don for a lookout).
You can definitely get over the train tracks on the unsanction biking/hiking trails, although i suspect with the tunnel installation coming shortly, that route may become a construction site.

The northern section (technically middle section) of the East Don Trail, that would go under Eglinton, can be done via unsanction trails like Kitchen Sink, but it is an expert level trail with no navigational aide. You could hike your way to the north section, but I wouldn't recommend it for the average Don user. Hopefully there is some news on that section of trail this summer season.

 

[Ben Aylsworth]

Work continues at the rail tunnel location. A bunch of site prep, and this beam was placed on interlocking blocks.