King St. W. traffic congestion expected as watermains replaced, streetcar tracks renewed

The construction will begin in November

Published Sep 17, 2026  •  2 minute read

Watermain and streetcar track work will begin on King St. west between Dufferin St. West and Close Ave. in November Photo by toronto.ca

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The City of Toronto and the TTC are slated to do both watermain replacement and streetcar track renewal on a portion of King St. W. starting in November.

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And that means more traffic disruptions.

The construction, which won’t be finished until next August, will occur between Dufferin St. and Close Ave., one block east of Jameson Ave.

During construction, 504 King streetcars will operate as a single branch between Dundas West Station and Broadview Station, and 304/504 King streetcars will divert via Queen St. W. between Roncesvalles Ave. and Spadina Ave.

Major works impacting the TTC’s King streetcar route. Toronto Sun

To maintain service on King St W., 504C/304C King replacement buses will operate between the Distillery District and Roncesvalles Ave., and 503 Kingston Rd. buses will be extended west to Dufferin Gate Loop via King St. W.

The 508 Lake Shore streetcars will be suspended during this period, but Wheel-Trans service will continue to operate normally and will not be affected by the construction.

“Road users should expect delays and increased traffic on nearby main and side streets during this work,” said the city in its pre-construction notice.

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Twin watermains almost 140 years old

Along with renewing aging streetcar tracks along the route, the city will also replace the 139-year-old twin watermains that run on both the north and south side of King St. W.

This work is required to bring the track infrastructure to a state of good repair, improve water distribution and reduce the risk of watermain breaks, the city said.

Planned TTC service changes. Toronto Sun

The watermain work will take place between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Friday, with late work or weekend work when needed. Track replacement work will take place 24 hours a day, seven days per week.

Around-the-clock work during rail installation by TTC is required to preserve the integrity and quality of new rail and concrete.

Overnight rail work by TTC may consist of moving new rail into position, rail installation and rail welding/grinding, the city added.

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