After more than a decade of construction, it's still not clear when the long-overdue and delay-plagued Eglinton Crosstown LRT will be operational, although tunnels for the project's west extension have finally reached 50 per cent completion. 

On Monday, Ontario's Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney uploaded a video to Twitter that boasted about the progress on the extension, however, the politician immediately got roasted for speaking highly of a project that still doesn't have a set completion date. 

Tunnels for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension are over 50% complete!

The extension will:
🚇Reduce commute times & improve access to transit!

🚙Fight Gridlock, taking up to 6.5M cars off the road each year!

🌎Fight climate change, reducing 5,800 tones of emissions annually! pic.twitter.com/XXdmWiDGhX

— Caroline Mulroney (@C_Mulroney) July 18, 2023

"It's been 12 years, nowhere near completion and you won't release the details on the financials, this is a vehicle of corruption," one person wrote. 

"50 per cent complete? After 12 years? You should not be bragging about this," another response reads. 

Are you embarrassed to be promoting progress on the *extension* of the crosstown, when your government can't even provide a schedule for when crosstown might open?

— afternoon nap the house down boots mama (@bstee9) July 18, 2023

"OMG, the years and years of delays have cost the Eglinton West community HUGE. Nothing to boast about Madame," one comment says. 

Has the child been born yet that will get to take a ride on in?

— JHRoberts (@tincase) July 19, 2023

The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension is set to run 9.2 kilometres from the future Mount Dennis LRT station to Renforth Drive and will mainly operate underground. 

The Eglinton crosstown project is a disaster - over budget and still not completed it is nothing to brag about

— Sue Tasker (@SueTasker5) July 19, 2023

The extension will connect with other local and regional transit services, including the UP Express, GO Transit Services, TTC bus services, and MiWay. 

The delay-stricken Eglinton Crosstown LRT still won't be operational until 2024 at the earliest, but will eventually offer 25 stations along Eglinton Avenue from Mount Dennis to Kennedy. 

The extension might open before the main line.

— Quentin Bixby 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 (@QBixby) July 19, 2023

Earlier this year, Metrolinx announced that it was facing a legal challenge from the consortium building the transit line. President and CEO of Metrolinx, Phil Verster revealed that Crosslinx Transit Solutions (CTS) informed the transit agency "that they intend to litigate and stop working with the TTC, who will operate the Eglinton Crosstown LRT." 

At the time, Verster described the news as an "unacceptable delay tactic by CTS at a time when they should be submitting a credible schedule to Metrolinx for completing the project," adding that the consortium's behaviour "continues to be disappointing," especially for the Toronto communities most affected by the project.