Traffic-clogging construction on the Gardiner Expressway could end at least one year earlier than originally planned, thanks to a funding injection from the provincial government.
Drivers will still be suffering through gridlock for another two years or so. But at a press conference at city hall on Wednesday, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria joined Mayor Olivia Chow to announce Queen’s Park would spend up to $73 million to shave at least 12 months off the project, which since it began in April has been causing maddening bottlenecks on the highway and some downtown roads.Ìý
The new funding moves up the estimated date of completion from April 2027 to April 2026.ÌýThe province says it’s providing the money — which will pay for measures like additional workers, equipment and modified construction techniques — on the condition crews are allowed to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The funding will also support  like modifying the Jameson on-ramp, opening a left-turn lane on Spadina Avenue from eastbound Lake Shore Boulevard and “relaxing” overnight lane closures.Ìý
Sarkaria said he knows firsthand how frustrating the construction has been for the 140,000 drivers who use the Gardiner every day. The MPP for Brampton South said it’s added 40 minutes to his commute to Queen’s Park.Ìý
He predicted accelerating the work would benefit the province’s economy by $273 million by “getting drivers and goods out of gridlock a year faster than planned.”
Premier Doug Ford’s government “will continue to work with the city in accelerating this critical project as we work to make life easier and more convenient for drivers in every corner of our province,” he said.
Chow said she understands road work is “painful,” which is why the city has been consulting with experts on how to bring forward the completion date for the Gardiner repairs. Wednesday’s announcement “cuts out a whole year long of congestion,” she said, adding “we’re excited and very grateful for this partnership.”
- Mahdis Habibinia, Ben Cohen
The project has reduced the Gardiner from three to two lanes in each direction between Strachan Avenue and Dufferin Street, part of a wider plan to repair the 60-year-old partly elevated highway.
This phase was expected to cost $300 million, and requires replacing 700 metres of concrete deck and girders and restoring the highway’s substructure.Ìý
Although the work is necessary to extend the life of the highway, according to one study it has increased travel times on the Gardiner by 250 per cent during morning rush hour.Ìý
Chow has been under pressure from critics on council to speed up work on the expressway, which last year the province agreed to take ownership of.
Although council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the acceleration plan, Brad Bradford (Ward 19, Beaches-East York) argued it would have been cheaper to have streamlined the process from the outset using a competitive bidding process, instead of making changes “midstream.”Â
Speeding up the work required negotiating new terms with Grascan Construction, which was awarded the Gardiner contract in October 2023.Ìý
Bradford called the project “a total disaster.”
“Frankly, we’ve had a real lack of leadership,” he said, asserting that getting the project finished sooner should have been one of Chow’s priorities when she took office last July.
But the original budget for it was approved earlier last year under former mayor John Tory, countered Coun. Paula Fletcher (Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth). “I think we should step back and try not to politicize this with mudslinging,” she said.Ìý
City staff reported that their original plan for this phase, which went to tender in 2022, was based on considerations like noise restrictions, and “the financial challenges facing the city at the time.”Â
Until now, excessive noise has been restricted on most of the project between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. City staff say they will monitor volume levels of the overnight work allowed under the acceleration plan using real-time sensors, and address concerns quickly as they arise.ÌýÂ
According to Wednesday, under the new plan, Grascan has proposed finishing most of the reconstruction by April 15, 2026, weeks before º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøis set to host the FIFA World Cup. After the tournament, the company would return to the site for two weekends of median work and final paving.Ìý
Despite the minister and mayor’s pronouncements, however, the report warns that achieving the pre-World Cup timeline is “contingent on many factors, including weather, constraints, resources and approvals.”
If the work isn’t done in time, Grascan would switch to a “fallback target” and reopen the expressway around the World Cup, then return to complete the job before the contract’s milestone date of April 2027.Ìý
Sarkaria, whose ministry has struggled to keep major projects like the Eglinton Crosstown LRT on schedule, said there will be financial consequences to the contractor for missing the new Gardiner deadlines.Ìý
“If those timelines are not met, they’re not going to get the incentivization payments to complete this project,” he warned.Ìý
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