A new three-year construction project aimed at rehabilitating key bridges and ramps in downtown Toronto’s east end is giving drivers trying to get around the city more cause for concern.
Work began Tuesday to fix three bridges and a ramp, including the Richmond Street exit from the Don Valley Parkway (DVP).
The work also includes the Eastern Avenue Bridge, as wells as the Richmond Street and Adelaide Street bridges which run over King Street East.
"This work will ensure that the bridges meet today’s standards and remain safe into the future," the city told nearby residents in a recent notice about the work. "The work also includes construction of a multi-use trail on the Eastern Avenue Bridge."
The work is being carried out in multiple stages, all of which will include lane restrictions.
For the first stage, which begins this week, lane restrictions will be in place for eastbound lanes on Adelaide Street and Eastern Avenue. Those restrictions will last until December. The city says there will also be traffic disruptions to St. Lawrence Street and Lower River Street for the rest of the year.
The city has not yet said how traffic will be impacted after December.
Speaking at an unrelated event about revamping aging community centres Tuesday morning, Mayor Olivia Chow said she realizes the work may be disruptive to drivers, but it is necessary.
"Speaking about old infrastructure, it's not just our community centre that is old, it's our highways, roads, the Gardiner – if we don't fix it, it's gonna fall apart. It's already falling apart and we have to rebuild it."
She said "you can only fix so many potholes" before a road has to be completely redone.
Chow added that the city is looking to technology to improve the scheduling of major construction work.
"We have a report that is very comprehensive coming at the end of September or the October Council, where we will be deploying more technology, AI based technology, where we are going to organize coordinated construction, etc.," Chow said. "So there are lot of ways where we're going to make our roads smoother and less congested."
Some of the work being carried out will include replacing the asphalt and waterproofing on the off-ramp and repairing the concrete deck.
All the bridges will be repaired and refurbished, including strengthening steel girders, replacing bridge bearings, repairing the decks and replacing drainage systems.
In its notice to area residents, the city warned that they may experience "dust, noise and other inconveniences" throughout the work, which will take place between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. from Monday to Sunday, including holidays. The notice also said that some overnight work may be required, including reversing trucks, jackhammering, and other noise.
"The city will make efforts to reduce noise impacts specifically during overnight work," the notice reads.
The city says that at least one lane on Eastern Avenue, Richmond Street East and Adelaide Street East will remain open in each direction throughout construction.
However, work on the Richmond exit from the Don Valley Parkway will require a full closure for around five months. That closure has been scheduled for the last half of construction, the city says. Further details about the closure of the major off-ramp will be provided in the future.
TTC service is expected to operate as normal throughout construction, though bike lanes on Lower River Street will be closed intermittently through the project between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. The city says that cyclists will need to merge with vehicular traffic during those hours. Localized sidewalk detours will also be in effect for pedestrians.
Drivers trying to move around the city have already been hampered by major lane restrictions on a stretch of the Gardiner Expressway between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue. That work began in April and was also expected to take three years, but the city recently announced that with financial help from the province, the work will be sped up so that it is completed by April 2026.
