Toronto

"The tentative opening date of the much-delayed Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) line will be revealed by the end of the summer, the head of Metrolinx announced Thursday.

Phil Verster, the chief executive officer of the Crown agency, was asked during an unrelated news conference about the status of the LRT, which will be the future Line 5 of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).

"There's been a huge amount of work to figure out what a credible schedule looks like," he said.

"(I'm) keen to give you by the end of the summer a clear indication of when that Line 5 would be in service."

It will be the first time that Metrolinx will provide a possible date of completion for the transit line that was initially set to open in 2020.

Construction on the $5.5 billion Crosstown began in 2011.

Since then, it has been plagued with issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain problems, leading to its opening date being pushed back several times.

The construction and ensuing delays have also caused headaches for residents and businesses along Eglinton Avenue.