Thirty-nine years ago this week, the Spadina subway extension – an offspring of the fiercely debated and ultimately failed Spadina Expressway – opened to the public.

A subway line running along the expressway’s median had first been proposed in the 1960s to provide transit for the underserviced northwest Toronto. However, the expressway’s downtown opponents dismissed the idea as a Trojan horse to make the project more appealing.

Besides, the City of Toronto was more focused on building a subway line along Queen St. at the time. However, when the province reorganized the pre-amalgamation Metropolitan Toronto government in 1967, the suburbs gained more sway and the Spadina extension was back on the table.

After some debate, the province approved the project in January 1973.

Stations along the $212 million new line, which would run between St. George and Wilson stations, would be more beautiful and varied than the utilitarian Yonge line; designers commissioned unique artwork for each one.

Meanwhile, construction of the Spadina Expressway had been halted in 1971 after bitter opposition from residents, though the section between Eglinton and Lawrence was already complete. True to its original purpose, the new subway line ran through the median of the roadway before tunneling south beneath Casa Loma and the Nordheimer Ravine.

Opening ceremonies for the new stations on Line 1 opened were held Jan. 27, 1978.

Though the line initially struggled with switch problems and low ridership, it turns out the Spadina line will now reach further north than its more favoured rival along Yonge St. Later this year, a new extension to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre is expected to open.

With files from Star archives

Correction – January 27, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said the Spadina subway extension opened 40 years ago.