Ontario Construction News staff writer
The province of Ontario says construction work on the Gardiner Expressway is about 15 months ahead of schedule.
Credit is going to a $73 million investment that the government is calling a crucial factor in expediting the rehabilitation project, allowing for crews to work 24/7.
โWeโre getting drivers out of gridlock by investing in infrastructure and accelerating construction on priority highways, allowing 24-hour-a-day construction, seven days a week,โ Minister of Transportation, Prabmeet Sarkaria, said in a news release.
โThese measures mean that weโre on track to reopen all lanes on the Gardiner Expressway more than 15 months ahead of the original schedule.โ
Work, being completed by Aecon, was originally scheduled to be completed by April 2027.
However, crews have already finished work on the two southern, and two centre lanes of expressway between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue, with work now underway on the final northern lanes.
โThe Gardiner is vital to keeping Toronto moving,โ said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. โThanks to our collaboration to accelerate this critical rehabilitation work, we are tracking well ahead of schedule, which means less disruption for our residents, visitors and businesses.โ
The six-phase Gardiner rehabilitation project was approved by Toronto City Council between 2014 and 2016. It will be completed by 2026 to accommodate increased traffic during Torontoโs hosting of the FIFA World Cup.
When the funding for round-the-clock work was announced last year, the province indicated that the timeline for completion would move up by at least a year, from April 2027 to April 2026.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow praised the partnership between the province and the city for expediting the project.
โThanks to our collaboration, we are ahead of schedule, which means less disruption for residents, visitors, and businesses,โ Chow said in a statement.
At the end of 2023, Ontario formally took control of both the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway from the City of Toronto as part of a new agreement. Under this deal, Ontario will bear the costs of maintaining these critical routes and will also contribute funding for subways, housing, and the future of Ontario Place.