Work on Gardiner Expressway four months ahead of schedule: Chow

Mayor Olivia Chow says the ongoing construction on the Gardiner Expressway is four months ahead of schedule after around-the-clock work began in July.

“We are ahead of schedule. That is just exciting,” Chow said during a visit at a construction site on Wednesday evening. She was joined by Ontario Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria to survey the ongoing work.

“We know that congestion is a problem. That’s why we need to rebuild the Gardiner. But in order to rebuild the Gardiner, we have to tear down half of it and rebuild it," the mayor

Mayor Olivia Chow and Ontario Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria survey the ongoing construction on the Gardiner Expressway on Wednesday, Oct. 9. 2024. (CP24)

In July, the Ontario government announced it was giving the city $73 million to speed up the rehabilitation work on the highway between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue, hoping to complete it by April 2026 instead of April 2027.

Construction work on the expressway has hampered traffic since it started in April, causing headaches for many commuters. Data released in June suggested that commute times during the morning rush hour increased.

“We’re making sure that we’re doing everything possible to speed it up because we know the challenges around gridlock and what this project, in particular, has caused for people travelling into the city and out of the city," Sarkaria said on Wednesday.

“We’re here to witness the great amount of work that has been ongoing for the past couple of months in speeding this process up and collaborating together to get results.”

Currently, the work being done is the second part of a long-term rehabilitation plan for the 60-year-old expressway, which is being carried out in six stages.

With files from CP24.com’s Joshua Freeman