Toronto city staff to explore how to ramp up construction on Gardiner Expressway

Toronto City Council has approved a motion that could ramp up construction on the Gardiner Expressway.

Toronto City Council has approved a motion that could ramp up construction on the Gardiner Expressway.

The motion put forward by Coun. Brad Bradford and seconded by Coun. Jon Burnside and amended by Coun. Jennifer McKelvie requests city transportation staff to report back in July with a plan to accelerate work on the expressway and minimize traffic and congestion impacts.

Staff will look into the feasibility of undertaking 24/7 construction, including work on Sundays.

"The experience on the Gardiner right now is an absolute horror show. It's choking our economy, it's killing our small business, and it is ruining quality of life for residents here in Toronto," Bradford said in an interview with CP24 Thursday morning.

Staff will also evaluate upcoming road work and other state-of-good repair projects along corridors adjacent to the highway. The motion also includes creating a working group to look into the issue.

"You're dealing with major construction projects on Lakeshore, on Gardiner, on King Street, Richmond, Adelaide, Queen. And that's why it's at such a breaking point right now because there are no alternative routes for people to use, so they are in the unfortunate position of being stuck in traffic," Bradford said.

The Gardiner has been reduced to two lanes of traffic in either direction for nearly two months now as major rehabilitation work gets underway to rejuvenate the crumbling expressway from Dufferin to Strachan.