A busy downtown intersection is going to be shut down for three weeks starting today as crews replace streetcar tracks and carry out other road work.
The intersection of Dundas and Parliament streets will be fully closed in all directions until June 5th as the TTC does track replacement work as well as road and sidewalk repairs.
The TTC says the track reconstruction phase of the project will require periods of late evening and overnight work.
"Work on the project will take place seven days a week from 7 a.m. to midnight and some of the work will occur on a 24/7 basis to reduce the length of time required to complete the work. The first few days of work will be the most disruptive, as they will involve breaking and removing concrete within the streetcar track areas. The work to break up the concrete will stop at 11 p.m. each night," a news release issued by the City of Toronto read.
Traffic will be diverted at Sherbourne Street to the west, Gerrard Street East to the north, River Street to the east and Shuter Street to the south.
The 505 Dundas streetcar will be diverting between Bay Street and Broadview Avenue.
When asked about the disruption in the area, Mayor John Tory told reporters Monday that there is a lot of work that needs to be done at the intersection.
"In the spirit of honesty... we have one of two decisions to make here. We can postpone this work indefinitely and never do it and then our infrastructure will break down and a streetcar will derail or the whole streetcar track will be closed without preparation so no one will be there to fix it properly. Or we can do the repair work that needs to be done, whether it is on water mains, sewers, streetcar tracks, roads,” Tory said. “I choose the latter course.”
Tory said the city does consult with those impacted by the closure before they determine the best course of action.
"What they will generally tell us is they would rather have one slightly lengthier and more disruptive closure… than several shorter closures," he added.
