Toronto announces bridge work for Gardiner rehabilitation

Key Takeaways:

• Critical repairs for five bridges in Section 3 (Highway 427 to Humber River) will begin ahead of the main 2027-2031 rehabilitation timeline. This includes work funded by the Ontario government for Park Lawn Road and Mimico Creek overpasses and the City-funded repairs for Kipling Avenue and Islington Avenue bridges.
• Construction on critical repairs will begin in Spring 2025 and use accelerated methods, including 24/7 work schedules, early completion incentives, and minimized lane closures.
• The project includes careful scheduling, pausing construction during the FIFA World Cup in 2026 to manage increased traffic and aligning construction phases with the Ontario Food Terminal’s low season to reduce operational impacts.

The Whole Story:

The City of Toronto announced it will begin critical repair work on five bridges in spring 2025, as part of the next stage of the Gardiner Expressway Strategic Rehabilitation Plan.

Rehabilitation work on Section 3 of the Gardiner Expressway, which runs from Highway 427 to the Humber River, is scheduled to take place from 2027 to 2031. However, five bridges in Section 3 have been identified for an advanced start after condition assessments noted critical repairs that need to be completed ahead of the 2027-2031 timeline.

“The Gardiner is old and falling apart,” said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. “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.”

The Ontario government will 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, which includes a provincial commitment to upload the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway to the Ontario government, subject to a third-party due diligence assessment. The City will fund repairs to the Kipling Avenue and Islington Avenue bridges over the Gardiner Expressway.

The contract for the bridge repairs will be advertised in early January so that work can begin in spring 2025. Construction will be paused from May to July 2026 to accommodate the increased traffic anticipated during the FIFA World Cup and is expected to be completed by December 2026.

This project will incorporate acceleration measures and congestion management tools from the current work on Section 2 of the Gardiner Expressway between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue, including early completion incentives, enabling crews to work up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week as required to meet the compressed construction timelines, temporary turning lane modifications and other construction and traffic management measures.

Extensive work was done during the design phase to ensure lane closures are kept to a minimum. The City is anticipating the following lane and ramp restrictions during phases 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).

The City stated that it is working closely with the nearby Ontario Food Terminal to minimize impact to its operations, which are vital to food distribution across Ontario, by aligning the construction schedule with the low season at the Terminal and providing a dedicated detour route for the Terminal’s truck traffic.

Construction on Section 2 of the Gardiner Expressway Rehabilitation Plan (Dufferin Street to Strachan Avenue) began in November 2023 with the first lane closures in March 2024. In July 2024, the City and Province announced plans to accelerate the construction work to move the construction completion date from April 2027 to at least April 2026.

Stage 1 of the Gardiner Expressway Section 2 rehabilitation work was completed four months ahead of the original, pre-acceleration schedule, helping to meet the revised April 2026 accelerated timeline.

More information about the Gardiner Expressway Strategic Rehabilitation Plan is on the City’s website.