Engineers gave the Gardiner Expressway a careful assessment Monday morning after a 15-pound chunk of concrete fell from the highway and shattered on the roadway below.

The chunk broke free from the elevated highway Saturday night, crashing to York Street intersection below and narrowly missing a car stopped at a red light.

There were no injuries when the incident occurred just before midnight. But the piece, which was reportedly about the size of a basketball, shattered as it landed, causing minor damage to a vehicle.

The intersection was closed for several hours while police investigated and city crews launched an initial inspection. Nothing of concern was found by city inspectors, but a more thorough inspection was scheduled for Monday.

Despite assurances that the 50-year-old expressway is safe, motorists driving beneath the Gardiner were still concerned.

"A little nervous, I drive here every day," one man told CTV's Desmond Brown on Monday.

Pedestrian were also worried about the condition of the highway which cuts a path through Toronto's downtown core.

"I've worried about it before," a woman said. "Like when I walk under ... the Front Street bridge as well with the GO Trains going across."

But city officials say the chunk that fell Saturday night was an isolated incident.

"We have the transportation ops people that drive around every day and are looking for things. If we notice something that's going to be an issue we can get the yards to go out and do some controlled chipping," John Bryson said.

"And if we have to do some maintenance work on it we will invoke that and get it done."

This is not the first time parts of the Gardiner Expressway have broken free and crashed to the road below. In 1999 in an area just east of Spadina, pieces of the Gardiner fell to the roadway, creating a mess but not hurting anyone.

What to do with the Gardiner Expressway has been a topic of conversation in Toronto for the last year.

A report released in October by the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation recommended that a portion of the Gardiner between the Don Valley Parkway and Spadina Avenue be torn down to make way for a ground level street.

While the idea was supported by Mayor David Miller, he said the city did not have the cash to make it happen. The cost was estimated to be $758 million.

Instead, the cheaper option would be continued maintenance of the expressway, which currently costs $10 million per year.

With a report from CTV's Desmond Brown