One of Toronto's busiest roadways will be closed Friday night to Monday morning for fall maintenance, meaning hundreds of commuters who use the Gardiner Expressway will be forced to take alternate routes to and from the city.
The Gardiner will be closed in both directions, from Highway 427 in the west to Carlaw Avenue in the east.
According to the City of Toronto the full closure is necessary to ensure safety for the public and those working at the site.
During the closure, workers will clean the expressway catch basins, re-paint pavement markings and repair potholes.
They will also conduct an inspection of the raised part of the expressway, fix any damaged signs, repair sections of the guardrail and remove litter.
Crews will remove the temporary concrete barrier that was set up between Jarvis Street and the Don Roadway where work is now complete. They will also re-mark the lanes between Ellis Avenue and Dufferin Street and replace expansion joints on the bridges at Mimico Creek and Park Lawn Avenue.
The closure starts Friday, Sept. 26 at 11 p.m. for eastbound traffic and 11:59 p.m. for westbound traffic. The expressway opens again on Monday, Sept. 29 at 5 a.m.
During the closure, drivers can use Lake Shore Boulevard, the Queensway, Richmond Street, King Street, Queen Street and Evans Avenue as alternate routes.
To help ease traffic, city employees will implement traffic-signal timing changes to enhance traffic flow along the alternate routes. Still, drivers can expect delays during the closure.
