Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow announced a major milestone for the new Ontario Line subway project on Wednesday, revealing that the province has officially begun work on all parts of the new 15-station, 15.6-km transit route connecting Exhibition Place with the former Ontario Science Centre.

Speaking before media this morning, Ford touted the Ontario line as the centrepiece in "our government's nearly $70 billion plan to expand public transit across the province," announcing that work was officially underway across the line.

"This transformational project is going to cut commute times for hundreds of thousands of riders every day, connecting to transit services from across the region and creating new economic opportunities all along the line," said the premier. 

Among the current works ongoing for the Ontario Line, excavation is now underway for the future King-Bathurst, Moss Park and Queen-Spadina stations, while ground has been broken at Pape Station, and excavation is soon to begin at Corktown and Osgoode stations.

In addition to these aspects of the project, today's announcement includes an acknowledgement that work has commenced to construct the Don Valley Crossing Bridge and the West Don Crossing Bridge, which will eventually carry Ontario Line trains across the Don Valley.

The province promises that the Ontario Line will cut transit times "by more than half for families and workers along the line" and projects that the new route will bring 230,000 people within walking distance of rapid transit.

"People need more public transit options to travel around our city," said Mayor Chow, adding that the new infrastructure "will help generations of Torontonians get to work, school or run errands around Toronto – without having to drive," 

"It's a historic investment and I'm pleased that it is well underway. Working together, we can build a more convenient, reliable, affordable and safe public transit system."

The Ontario Line will not only introduce subway service to a large swath of the city, but also is projected to relieve overcrowding at key interchange points like Bloor-Yonge and Union by providing two new connections with the Line 1 subway at Queen and Osgoode. 

Osgoode's Line 1 connection alone is expected to service more than 12,000 commuters per day and cut down on crowding at Union Station by 14 per cent.

In total, the line will include more than 40 connections to existing subway, bus, streetcar and regional train services, and is projected to eliminate a whopping 28,000 car trips in the city every day.

The turnaround time from the Ontario Line's reveal in April 2019 was noted by Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation, noting that "Five years ago, our government unveiled Ontario's new historic transportation vision for the Greater Toronto Area. Today, we are delivering on that vision with all contracts awarded and work underway across the entire line."

However, the Ontario Line is the product of decades of planning and studies for what was initially referred to as the Downtown Relief Line, which was rebranded and adjusted by the Ontario PC government just one year after being elected.