Schedule for Toronto's Gardiner Expressway construction now cut by 1.5 years

The ongoing renovation of a key elevated portion of Toronto's landmark freeway, the Gardiner Expressway, is finally set to come to an end this month — an entire 1.5 years earlier than planned.

Since the construction kicked off in spring 2024, traffic has significantly worsened along the east-west thoroughfare and all around the city's already congested downtown core.

Just a few months into the project, travel times were said to have increased by up to 250 per cent, with vexed locals and commuters looking down the barrel of three years of lane closures and resulting headaches, all for a 700-metre section of road.

But, since the Province provided tens of millions in additional funding to help ramp up the work schedule to 24/7, progress on this phase has been speeding along.

The original completion date of April 2027 was revised to April 2026 upon that announcement in July of last year, and after some lanes were able to reopen early, leaders revealed in April that they were at least 15 months ahead of the original timeline.

In August, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow confirmed that the duration of the work had been basically cut in half. This was closely followed by yet another positive update from city manager Paul Johnson, who informed the public that this part of the project could likely wrap up by the end of this year.

Now, even more good news: the road is slated to be fully back in action — yes, sans construction cones, workers and equipment — by October 27, according to Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria.

The leader praised the partnership between his government and the City on 680 NewsRadio Thursday, telling the station that "by pushing construction crews to work 24/7, by ensuring that we had the investment with the city of Toronto and working with them very well on this, we've got this project opening by the end of this month."

Although this expedited agenda is undoubtedly a welcome development for motorists, drivers should note that four additional sections of the route remain to be repaired under the city's Gardiner Expressway Strategic Rehabilitation Plan, which is essential for maintaining the iconic infrastructure in working order for years to come.