Gardiner Expressway reduced to 2 lanes in each direction for 3 years

A 700-metre stretch of the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto is moving to two lanes in each direction for the foreseeable future, and some drivers are already expecting traffic to get worse.

“It's going to be chaos,” Harborfront resident Nellie Carol told CTV News Toronto.

In addition to the one eastbound lane closed last week, one westbound lane was closed Sunday at Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue. The closures are part of a 60-year highway rehabilitation project that will run through mid-2027.

Prior to Sunday's closure, Carroll said traffic in the area was poor due to lane reductions in the eastbound lanes.

“As I was traveling westbound…I saw traffic (eastbound) backed up all the way from Yonge Street to (Freeway) 427. It was like a parking lot,” he said.

Mary Ann Torres says her commute from Park Lawn Road to Strachan Avenue in Etobicoke doubled last week to 45 minutes, and she may need a new job if the traffic continues.

“Public transit or alternate routes (Lakeshore, Queensway) will also be affected,” he told CTV News Toronto. “I want the city to have a better plan that comprehensively addresses the need for infrastructure repairs and minimizes the impact.”

Another commuter, Lauren, told CTV News Toronto that her trip from south Etobicoke to downtown Toronto was twice as long as it was after the first lane was closed on the eastbound lanes.

Vehicles drive in and out of downtown Toronto along the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

“35-40 to 70-80 minutes, three days a week,” he said in an email last week. “Lakeside, Gardiner, and cross-town routes are all a mess, and Google Maps/Waze estimates are completely unreliable for travel times. I understand that work needs to be done, but why at such a difficult time of day?'

Crews will work from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Saturday, to complete the $300 million project, which will include replacing the concrete deck and girders, rehabilitating the related substructure and installing new street lighting.

Sometimes, the city says, there will be “intermittent” overnight closures of the second eastbound or westbound lane. Eastbound lanes of Lake Shore Boulevard east of Jason Avenue are also closed.

The city says it will implement a plan to manage congestion on the affected highway, which carries about 200,000 vehicles a day.

City officials said the highway will be open briefly during the 2026 FIFA World Cup when the city hosts several games.