As Toronto commuters impatiently await the opening of Metrolinx's long-overdue Eglinton Crosstown LRT, a western extension for the problematic transit route is already well under construction.

The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will extend the upcoming TTC Line 5 by another 9.2 kilometres from its soon-to-open terminus at Mount Dennis, west to Renforth Drive.

Much of the route will run underground in twin tunnels currently being carved out below city streets, though a 1.5-kilometre stretch of the line will run on an elevated guideway from just west of Scarlett Road to east of Jane Street.

Following the recent announcement that Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc. had been awarded the contract to design and build this elevated section crossing the Humber River in Etobicoke, Metrolinx is offering up a video preview of how this section of the line could look once complete in 2030-31.

This visualization shows @EglintonWestEXT travelling on an elevated track called a guideway through the Mount Dennis community. A contract to design and build the guideway was awarded on December 15—an important step toward extending rapid transit into Etobicoke and Mississauga. pic.twitter.com/BopbXC08IQ

— Metrolinx (@Metrolinx) December 21, 2023

The guideway will be constructed along the north side of Eglinton Avenue West, and will include two elevated stations at Jane and Scarlett

However, not everyone is excited about this new infrastructure project.

The guideway's proposed path through the Eglinton Flats and Fergy Brown Park triggered protests in early 2023 when the ENAGB Indigenous Youth Agency held a protest with support from allies like Stop the Trains in Our Parks, the Mount Dennis Community Association, and the Mount Dennis eco-Neighbourhood Initiative.

People are upset that Toronto's new LRT is going to damage a local park https://t.co/WhzeBLd1qE #Toronto

— blogTO (@blogTO) January 9, 2023

"Metrolinx wants to put what amounts to a 1.5 km 'Gardiner Expressway' for LRT trains through the heart of York South-Weston's parkland as part of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension," STOP's website reads.

While community groups continue to fight the project, Metrolinx argues that due to the Humber River floodplain, constructing this segment of the line in an elevated configuration "is the best way to provide safe, reliable transit to Mount Dennis."

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT and West Extension projects will combine to form a continuous 28-kilometre route connecting Scarborough and Etobicoke via midtown Toronto.

The line is expected to grow even longer in the future with a planned extension to bring the line into Pearson Airport.

An Eglinton East LRT is also in the works, though these will function as separate routes, forcing passengers to transfer between the two disconnected Eglinton lines.