Mayor Olivia Chow says upcoming repair work to the Gardiner Expressway will cause additional congestion, but must be done now in the name of safety.
“Do I want to do it? No. But, is it critically important? Absolutely. And that’s why we need to make the decision: We’re going to go ahead,” she said.
Chow made the comment at an unrelated news conference Tuesday, referring to the city’s decision to accelerate planned repairs on five bridges connected to the busy downtown highway by two years.
The work, which is set to begin next Monday, will see the four lanes between Park Lawn Road and Grand Avenue reduced to three for approximately one year.
Eastbound lanes in the area will be narrowed, but not reduced, during that time among several other road restrictions in place while the construction is carried out.
“It’s for safety’s sake. Why would we want to go and block a road or have an impact that causes more congestion? There’s no reason, but we have to do it,” she said.
The city’s “strategic rehabilitation plan” for the aging highway is currently in its second stage and last April traffic was reduced to two lanes between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue to accommodate the latest phase of work.
The impact of those lane closures prompted the Ontario government to chip in $73 million to allow for the work to be carried out on a non-stop basis as drivers described treacherous commutes along the short stretch of road. That work is expected to be completed by April 2026.
The city said in a news release that the same “acceleration measures” would be used to complete the upcoming repairs and that crews would be able to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to meet the construction schedule.
While the exact cost of the latest round of construction is unknown, Chow said the work is “critical.”
“We need to make sure the bridges are safe. We also know that the longer we delay, not only is it not safe, the cost will continue to go up.”
