Ontario Construction News staff writer
Critical repairs are set to begin on five bridges along the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto, which will reduce the westbound lanes from four to three between Park Lawn Road and Grand Avenue for approximately one year.
Although rehabilitation work on Section 3 of the Gardiner Expressway, which stretches from Highway 427 to the Humber River, is slated for 2027 to 2031, the timeline for repairs on five bridges in the area has been advanced. This decision follows assessments that identified the urgent need for repairs.
The Ontario government will fund the replacement of overpasses at Park Lawn Road and Mimico Creek, as well as the westbound on-ramp from Park Lawn Road over Mimico Creek. Meanwhile, the City of Toronto will fund repairs to the Kipling Avenue and Islington Avenue bridges.
To accommodate increased traffic during the FIFA World Cup, construction will pause between May and July 2026, with the project expected to be completed by November 2026.
This initiative will follow the same accelerated approach as the rehabilitation work on the Gardiner Expressway between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue. Crews will have the flexibility to work up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with completion incentives to help meet the revised construction schedule.
Work on Section 2 of the Gardiner Expressway rehabilitation plan (Dufferin Street to Strachan Avenue) began in November 2023, with lane closures starting in March 2024. In July 2024, both the city and province announced plans to expedite the work, moving the completion date up from April 2027 to at least April 2026. Stage 1 of the Section 2 rehabilitation was completed four months ahead of the original schedule, contributing to the revised, accelerated timeline for 2026.
Decast crews were onsite Friday night to see the final span of Stage 2 of the box girders being installed, a significant milestone and a pivotal moment.
“A big thank you to our dedicated partners for their unwavering hard work,” Decast posted on social media, recognizing Torbridge Construction, Grascan Construction and others.
