Toronto's Gardiner Expressway lanes to be reduced for 3 years starting Sunday. How will it affect your commute?
Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway is about to be reduced to two lanes in both directions on a downtown stretch of the highway for a three-year rehabilitation project.
One westbound lane will close at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, weather permitting, in addition to the one eastbound lane that was blocked off earlier this week. The lane reductions are expected to remain in place until at least mid-2027. The westbound closure was scheduled to take place Thursday night, but was postponed due to the weather.
It’s all part of what the city has called “critical construction work” on the 60-year-old highway. The construction from Dufferin Street to Strachan Avenue marks the second stage in the six-stage rehabilitation project. The work on the first stretch, from Jarvis Street to Cherry Street, was completed in 2021.
Crews will work from Monday to Saturday between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. to complete the $300-million project, which involves replacing 700 metres of 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.
Throughout the construction, 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.
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
Sunday's closure builds on preconstruction work that started on March 25 and saw one lane blocked off.
Officials said the highway will reopen briefly during the 2026 FIFA World Cup when the city is set to host a handful of games.
If you’ve been, or think you’ll be, affected by the construction, CTV News Toronto wants to hear from you.
Have you already encountered bad traffic on this stretch of highway due to the lane closures? Will you or have you had to change your route to work? Are you worried about the traffic getting worse?
With files from CP24’s Joshua Freeman
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
President Joe Biden calls Japan and India 'xenophobic' nations that do not welcome immigrants
President Joe Biden has called Japan and India “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, lumping the two with adversaries China and Russia as he tried to explain their economic circumstances and contrasted the four with the U.S. on immigration.
Quebec premier asks police to dismantle camp at McGill University
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has called on the police to dismantle the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the lower field of McGill University's downtown campus in Montreal.