Toronto motorists are about to be hit with some major traffic headaches this summer as the city announces plans for a massive construction blitz in preparation for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong announced a series of major construction projects at a news conference on Monday, asking Toronto residents to be patient as the city works to restore several major roads and bridges across the city starting in April.
The city is set to spend close to $215 million to repair streets across the city.
One of the biggest projects scheduled for this summer is the maintenance of the Gardiner Expressway as crews work to replace the deck on the elevated portion of the road from CNE to Grand Magazine Street.
There are also plans to demolish the Garrison Road bridge east of Strachan Avenue. One lane will be closed in each direction of the Gardiner and construction is expected to be complete in December 2016.
Other major projects include bridge upgrades in the Humber River and Park Lawn Avenue area and the replacement of a median west of Dufferin Street.
Minnan-Wong said the city is working to make sure the construction is complete as soon as possible to cause minimal disruption to motorists and residents.
“We sympathize with motorists as they travel across the city but we have to do the work,” he said.
“We’re hopeful that we can have some remedies that can make traffic a little bit smoother,” Minnan-Wong added, urging residents to take public transit during the height of construction period to avoid major delays.
City officials say they are looking for ways to speed up the construction season which may mean paying contractors more to get the job done faster.
In all, the city is planning to resurface more than 185 kilometres of road, including these streets:
- Markham Road from Kingston Road to Lawrence Avenue East
- Victoria Park Avenue between Eglinton and Lawrence avenues
- Wilson Avenue from Bathurst to Dufferin streets
- Finch Avenue from Kipling Avenue to Highway 27
- Kipling Avenue between Bloor Street and Dixon Road
- Parkside Drive from Lake Shore Boulevard West to Bloor Street West
- Queen’s Park from College Street to Bloor Street West
- Wellesley Street West from Yonge Street to Hart House Circle
- Kingston Road from Birchmount Avenue to Victoria Park
- Richmond Street East from Church to Power streets
- Lake Shore Boulevard West (westbound) from the Don River bridge to Don Roadway
- Lake Shore Boulevard West (westbound) from Yonge to Bathurst streets
- Lake Shore Boulevard West (eastbound) from Lower Spadina Avenue to Bathurst Street
- Lake Shore Boulevard West and Bathurst Street
- Lake Shore Boulevard West from Stadium Road to Lake Shore Boulevard West
- Lake Shore Boulevard West (westbound) from Strachan Avenue to Lake Shore Boulevard West
- Lake Shore Boulevard West from Newfoundland Drive to British Columbia Road
- Lake Shore Boulevard West (westbound) from Lake Shore Boulevard West to Windermere Avenue
- Bayview Avnue from Trueman to Yorkmills roads
- Highway 27 and Belfield Avenue
City workers are also busy repairing thousands of potholes that have the riddled the city’s streets following the brutal winter season.
So far, the city has repaired about 131,000 potholes at a cost of $2.2 million – nearly $1 million more than what it cost in 2013. Crews have about 10,000 potholes still left to fill.
With files from CTV Toronto’s Colin D’Mello and CP24
