'Like a parking lot': Toronto's Gardiner Expressway now down to 2 lanes in each direction for 3 years
A 700-metre stretch of the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto is now running on two lanes in each direction for the foreseeable future and some drivers are already expecting traffic to get worse.
“It's going to be chaos,” Nellie Carol, who lives at the Harbourfront, told CTV News Toronto.
One westbound lane from Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue was closed on Sunday in addition to the one eastbound lane that was closed last week. The closures are part of a rehabilitation project for the 60-year-old highway, which is expected to last until mid-2027.
Even before Sunday’s closure, Carol said traffic in the area was bad due to the lane reduction in the eastbound lanes.
“When I was travelling westbound…I could see the traffic [eastbound] was backed up all the way from Yonge Street all the way back to the [Highway] 427. It was like a parking lot,” she said.
Mary Ann Torres says her commute from Park Lawn Road in Etobicoke to Strachan Avenue more than doubled to 45 minutes last week and says she may need to get a new job if the traffic continues.
“Public transportation or alternative routes (Lakeshore, Queensway) are also affected,” she told CTV News Toronto. “I wish the city had a better plan that comprehensively addresses the need to fix the infrastructure and mitigates the impact.”
Another commuter, named Lauren, told CTV News Toronto that her drive from south Etobicoke to midtown Toronto is two times longer than it used to be after the first lane closure in the eastbound lanes.
Vehicles makes their way into and out of downtown Toronto along the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto on Thursday, November 24, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
“From 35-40 to 70-80 minutes, three days a week,” she said in an email last week. “Lakeshore, Gardiner and routes through the city are all a mess, and Google Maps/Waze quotes for travel duration have become completely unreliable. I understand that the work needs to be completed, but why during such critical times of day?”
Crews will work from Monday to Saturday between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. to complete the $300-million project, which involves replacing concrete deck and girders, rehabilitating the associated substructure and installing new street lighting.
At times, the city has said, there will be “intermittent” overnight closures of a second east or westbound lane. The eastbound on-ramp from Lake Shore Boulevard east of Jameson Avenue is also closed.
The city says it will carry out a congestion management plan on the stretch of affected highway, which sees roughly 200,000 vehicles pass through daily.
City staff said the highway will reopen briefly during the 2026 FIFA World Cup when the city is set to host a handful of games.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Nicki Minaj detained by police in Amsterdam for allegedly possessing soft drugs
American rapper Nicki Minaj said she was held at Amsterdam Schiphol airport on Saturday on allegation of possession of soft drugs.
American Airlines drops law firm that said a 9-year-old girl should have seen camera on toilet seat
American Airlines has replaced the law firm that told a judge a nine-year-old girl was negligent in not noticing there was a camera phone taped to the seat in an airplane lavatory.
Public safety minister pledges to 'massively' reduce auto theft
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc insists the federal government is 'doing everything (it) can' to eliminate auto thefts in Canada, and he hopes to see 'a significant reduction quickly' following this week's announcement of new measures to counter the problem.
Three dead after vehicle leaves road in Shediac: N.B. RCMP
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
More enoki mushrooms, Lamborghini Urus and promotionally-gifted tumbler cups: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada, Transport Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued various recalls this week. Here's what you need to know.