Construction on the Gardiner Expressway will be over sooner than expected, according to Toronto Mayor John Tory.
A section of the aging expressway from the Canadian National Exhibition grounds to Grand Magazine Street will be completed two months ahead of schedule, weather permitting.
"Traffic congestion, caused by various things, is strangling Toronto," Tory said Thursday.
"If we're going to be honest with ourselves, a big part of that has come from construction projects the city itself has initiated of necessity."
One lane of traffic is currently closed, in each direction, for repairs to the raised portion of the six-lane highway.
At a news conference at Toronto City Hall, Tory said the western section of the expressway is expected to fully reopen in May 2015. It was scheduled to reopen in July, in time for the Pan Am Games in Toronto.
Tory said that repairs are ahead of schedule thanks to extended work hours negotiated by the city and the contractor.
In exchange for the acceleration, the city will be paying the contractor an extra $2 million. Previous estimates from the City of Toronto have put the annual cost of maintaining the Gardiner at approximately $12 million.
In 2013, Toronto City Council approved an approximately $500 million, 10-year allocation for Gardiner repairs.
"I believe this is a very sound investment," Tory said, adding that he felt residents of the city would feel that it was a small price to pay for relief from congestion.
The next phase of construction on the raised portion of the expressway will begin in September.
