Next phase of Gardiner Expressway work to begin and here's what to expect
On Friday, the City announced that it will move ahead with critical repair work on five bridges in spring 2025, as part of the next phase of the Gardiner Expressway Strategic Rehabilitation Plan.
Repair work on Section 3 of the aging highway, which runs from Highway 427 to the Humber River, is scheduled to take place from 2027 to 2031, however, five specific bridges in the section have been identified for an advanced start, after assessments revealed that the critical work needed to be completed ahead of the original timeline.
The provincial government is set to fund the replacement of the Gardiner Expressway overpasses at Park Lawn Road and Mimico Creek and the westbound on-ramp from Park Lawn Road over Mimico Creek as part of the Ontario-Toronto New Deal.
The City will be funding repairs to the Kipling Avenue and Islington Avenue bridges over the Gardiner Expressway.
"The Gardiner is old and falling apart," said Mayor Olivia Chow in a Friday news release.
"We must upgrade it to keep it safe and keep Toronto moving. We are working hard to ease congestion for those living and working in the area."
Construction will still be paused from May to July 2026 to accommodate the increased traffic expected during the FIFA World Cup, and is anticipated to be completed by December 2026.
The upcoming project will use some of the same acceleration tools used during the work on Section 2 of the Gardiner between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue, including early completion incentives, which enable crews to work up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
#ICYMI: 🚧Construction for the Gardiner Expressway is ahead of schedule!
— Prabmeet Sarkaria (@PrabSarkaria) December 20, 2024
This is part of our government's $73 million investment to build the transit infrastructure our province needs for the future.
We’re getting it done—ensuring better, faster commutes for Ontarians! pic.twitter.com/kEQ0XmHQsL
According to the City, these are the lane and ramp restrictions you can expect over the course of the bridge repair work:
- Eastbound Gardiner Expressway lanes from Mimico Creek to Park Lawn Road will be narrowed with no lane reductions
- Westbound Gardiner Expressway from Park Lawn Road to Mimico Creek will be reduced from four lanes to three lanes (for approximately one year)
- Park Lawn Road, where it passes under the Gardiner Expressway, will be reduced to a single lane for an estimated two-month period in each direction
- Kipling Avenue and Islington Avenue will be reduced from six lanes to four lanes where they pass over the Gardiner Expressway (for approximately eight months)
- Full closure of the Park Lawn Road on-ramp to westbound Gardiner Expressway (November 2025 to April 2026)
Construction on Section 2 of the highway began in November 2023, and in July 2024, the City and the provincial government announced plans to accelerate the construction work to move the completion date from April 2027 to April 2026.
Stage one of the rehabilitation was completed four months ahead of the original schedule to help meet the revised 2026 accelerated timeline.
