They've been hidden underground for nearly two years. But this weekend the public will get a peek at Dennis and Lea, two of the giant tunnel-boring machines burrowing a path for the $4.9-billion Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

Allen Rd. will be closed from Friday evening through Monday so the mammoth borers can be lifted out of the ground on the west side of the Eglinton West subway station and planted back below the road on the east.

Metrolinx, the provincial agency in charge of building the Crosstown, is providing bleachers for the comfort of construction fans who want to watch the operation. But they will need to be patient. The main action takes place in the wee hours, with the machines being moved between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Metrolinx staff will be on hand with coffee, hot chocolate and answers to questions from the public on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Originally, the massive machines were going to be disassembled before being lifted over to the east side of Allen. But construction experts figured out how to keep them intact, lift them onto a conveyor type machine and slide them over and down the launch shaft on the other side of the subway station.

Ontario Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca will be on Eglinton on Wednesday afternoon to announce the procedure that marks the end of the first tunnel drive on the Eglinton.

The giant machines start moving east again in mid-June. One machine starts a couple of weeks ahead of its twin. They will reach Yonge St. about the end of April 2016.

Another set of tunneling machines, dubbed Don and Humber, will begin driving west late this summer from around Laird Ave. They are expected to arrive at Yonge St. at the end of next year.

The city is taking advantage of the road closure to perform maintenance on Allen, including some paving, bridge inspections and maintenance.

The shutdown between Sheppard and Eglinton Aves. starts at 11 p.m. Friday and continues to 5 a.m. Monday. Allen from Lawrence to Eglinton closes earlier, about 9 p.m. on Friday.

Eglinton will also be closed to motorists in both directions from Marlee to Bathurst. Some local access will be permitted. There will be signs directing pedestrians to routes on the south side of Eglinton at Allen.

The city is suggesting that motorists use Dufferin and Bathurst Sts. to travel north-south.

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The Crosstown isn't scheduled for completion until 2020. About 10 kilometres of the rapid transit line will run underground, from about Black Creek Dr. to Laird. The LRT will run on the road from Laird to Kennedy Station.

The Don Valley Parkway will be closed for spring maintenance the following weekend, April 24 to 26, and the Gardiner Expressway on May 1 to 3.

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