Travelling to and out of Toronto might be a bit tricky this weekend as maintenance crews plan to shut down the Gardiner Expressway for a spring cleaning.
The Gardiner will be closed in both directions from the Don Valley Parkway exit all the way west to the Humber River, from Saturday, May 15 at 4 a.m. until Monday, May 17 at 5 a.m.
There will also be closures between Kipling Avenue and Royal York Road. The eastbound express lanes will close Saturday at 2 a.m. and will reopen Sunday at midnight.
Crews will also shut down the westbound lanes of the highway between Highway 427 and Islington Avenue from 6 a.m. on Sunday until Monday at midnight.
Motorists are being told to either use public transit or the alternate routes of Lake Shore Boulevard and The Queensway during the closure.
"We're conscious of the fact that it's an important expressway in our network -- it carries 160,000 vehicles a day," said Peter Noehammer, director of the city's transportation services department. "For us to close it down during the week it would impact commuters and businesses far more than on the weekend."
Crews will clean catchbasins, repair pavement markings and fix signs. They will also inspect and repair overhead signs, fix up the guardrails and remove litter from the roadway. Work will also be done on the Jameson bridge that crosses over the highway.
"We're hoping that people will notice that the expressway is a lot cleaner," Noehammer said.
