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Earlier this week, Metrolinx's board awarded a $320 million contract (in Canadian dollars) to Crosstown Transit Constructors for the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown tunnel construction. The award marks a significant step in the largest light-rail expansion in Toronto's history, Metrolinx officials said in a prepared statement.

The contract is the first of two tunneling contract packages anticipated for the Crosstown project. Later this year, Crosstown Transit Constructors — a joint venture between Obayashi Canada Ltd., Kenny Construction Co., Kenaidan Contracting Ltd. and Technicore Underground Inc. — will begin construction of a 6.2-kilometer tunnel beneath Eglinton Avenue from the west launch shaft area at Black Creek Drive to Yonge Street. The contractors will use two tunnel-boring machines for the job.

"We are moving forward on the biggest investment in public transit in the city of Toronto," said Bob Chiarelli, Ontario's minister of transportation and infrastructure. "This project will create tens of thousands of jobs and make it easier for commuters to get to work, school or appointments."

The Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown light-rail transit line from Black Cherry to Kennedy Station is slated for completion by 2020.