Watermain construction will not be completed until 2021


The Region of Peel has started its $150 million watermain and sanitary project in Mississauga that will be focused along Burnhamthorpe Road. The construction around Sheridan college HMC campus located in the City Center area will finish by 2020; however, the overall project won’t be done until 2021.

Photo Credit Samantha Paiva, HMC student.
Photo Credit: HMC Sheridan College student Samantha Paiva

The water pipelines will be installed through two different methods: open cutting and tunneling. 

“Open-cut construction takes out a lane or two of traffic for a longer distance, but a shorter time.  The compounds associated with tunneling (the compounds house the shafts necessary to reach the tunnels) affect traffic for a shorter distance, but a longer time,” says Sandra LeFaucheur, project ambassador for Region of Peel Public works. LeFaucheur says that both methods can have an effect on commuters. 

The map outlines that tunneling will be used between the intersections of Cawthra and Burhamthorpe to Burnhamthorpe and Grand Park.

Map featured on the Region of Peel page that outlines the tunneling and open-cutting construction method.

In an email exchange with Michelle McCollum, capital development and facility manager at Sheridan, she said there could be numerous ways that the area around the HMC campus will be affected including sidewalk closures, lane closures, noise, and distractions. To mitigate the impacts the Region of Peel is sending regular updates to Sheridan College that continue to keep them informed of any changes. In the end, the benefits outweigh the inconvenience: “The work addresses long-term infrastructure required to support a higher-density, sustainable and transit-connected area,” McCollum said.

Samantha Paiva, a student at HMC studying advertising and marketing communications, says that the construction has not affected her in any way: “The bus routes are the same. Maybe from time to time parking spots that are closest to the construction are affected.” Paiva added that construction has been going on since the beginning of the semester, and the first-year students wouldn’t know what it was like without it. 

You can find construction updates on the Region of Peel social media feed.