A new plan to replace a section of the aging Gardiner Expressway would speed up the procedure, but would cost more money up front.
The 50-year-old Gardiner Expressway is in need of major repairs, but the current plan will take 20 years to replace the western deck. A section of the road near Strachan Avenue needs to be torn up and replaced, causing lane closures and traffic jams.
The city estimates the economic impact on users for the project is $7.4 billion.
A new staff report recommends cutting the construction period down to 12 years, which would lighten the economic impact of the project by $3 billion. However, the innovative plan is to use pre-fabricated deck sections instead of pouring concrete, so the city would have to pay $90 million more up front.
“It is going to be Lego construction,” Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong told CTV Toronto’s Austin Delaney.
The Don Valley East councillor said that spending extra in the beginning would be worth it, because the city will save money in the long run.
“When you look at $90 million extra costs to the city, versus $3 billion in savings, I think that’s a good investment.”
A full inspection of the elevated portion of the Gardiner was completed in December 2012, and crews have been monitoring the structure and chipping away loose pieces of concrete since then.
On its website, the City of Toronto says that chunks of concrete becoming loose are “in no way an indication that the roadway is not structurally sound.”
The Strachan Avenue rehabilitation project is expected to begin in March.
The proposal will go before the public works committee next week. If approved, the cost will be worked into the city’s capital budget.
