Gardiner Expressway construction 4 months ahead of schedule, officials say

A key phase of the ongoing work to rehabilitate the aging Gardiner Expressway in Toronto is four months ahead of schedule, city and provincial officials said Wednesday.

Construction started in March to refurbish the 60-year-old highway and portions of its elevated structure that run through the downtown core.

The scope of the current stage of the project includes demolishing and rebuilding a 700-metre stretch of elevated roadway from DufferinStreet toStrachan Avenue. It is among the most complicated construction projects currently underway in the province, officials said.

The work was initially forecast to be finished by April 2027. But in July, the province announced roughly $73 million in funding to ensure construction could continue 24/7, moving up the expected completion date by a full year to April 2026.

It's now possible the work could done even sooner, officials said.

"That is something to celebrate," said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow at a news conference Wednesday night.

About 140,000 drivers use the Gardiner Expressway each day, according to the province. The current construction has reduced the highway's overall capacity by about a third.

"We're making sure that we are doing everything possible to speed it up because we know the challenges around gridlock," said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Ontario's minister of transportation. He added about 100 workers are on site or at related facilities at any given time, around the clock.

The ongoing, $300-millionphase of construction is a part of a larger multi-billion-dollar effort to save the roadway approved by city council in a series of decisions between 2014 and 2016.

In November, the city and province announced they had reached a deal to upload oversight of both the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway to the ministry of transportation, a move expected to save Toronto billions in operations and maintenance costs.

In exchange, the city stepped aside on any opposition to the province's controversial redevelopment plan for the Ontario Place grounds.