Major Toronto intersection reopening early after weeks-long construction closure

The nightmarish traffic conditions that have been plaguing King Street West for weeks are finally over for Toronto locals, as a construction project that necessitated the full closure of a part of the east-west thoroughfare has just wrapped up ahead of schedule.

Residents have had to deal with months of headaches in the area as the roadway was torn up in stages to replace aging streetcar tracks and watermains.

Work between Dufferin and Shaw streets kicked off in February 2024, which forced cyclists, motorists and transit vehicles to detour around the stretch for more than seven months.

Luckily, that segment of the work reached completion last October, an entire two months earlier than anticipated.

Now, the City has announced another early milestone: the completion of the same restorations around the corner of King and Dufferin, specifically, which was fenced off and shut down at the end of last month.

"We're very pleased to share that we're expecting to open the intersection to vehicles, TTC buses, and bicycles by Thursday of this week — two weeks ahead of schedule," the City shared in an update on Oct. 28.

They added that though regular travel through the intersection will be restored before the weekend, getting the 504 King streetcar back up and running will take a little bit longer, with testing of the new tracks to kick off next week.

The intersection is looking fresh after its recent makeover, and will open by this Thursday, October 30.

Of course, while Toronto traffic is almost always bonkers regardless of whatever roadwork may be taking place, it's a relief to see at least some of these state-of-good-repair initiatives progressing quickly lately.

The Gardiner Expressway may be the most famous example, having reopened this week after crews expedited the latest phase of remediation on the artery, ending the agonizing lane closures a whopping 18 months ahead of the original timeline.