Construction on a stretch of the Gardiner Expressway that was set to be completed by spring 2026 will now be done by the end of October, though a World Series appearance for the Blue Jays could set reopening back a little bit.
The province and the city confirmed Friday that the rehabilitation project between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue will be completed six months early after the Ford government poured an additional $73 million in to speed up the timeline.
The city said all six lanes of the highway will reopen in the area on Oct. 27. However there is one thing that could change that.
“This plan will be confirmed pending coordination with the potential appearance of the Toronto Blue Jays playoff schedule, as a weekend road closure is required to finalize the roadwork,” the city said.
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria’s office confirmed that if the Blue Jays appear in the World Series, the full reopening could be delayed so that the final closure required to complete the work does not occur over game days.
Otherwise there will be a temporary weekend closure of the Gardiner from Spadina Avenue to Highway 427 on Oct. 24 at 11 p.m., with all lanes reopening by 5 a.m. on Oct. 27 in order to complete final preparatory and other maintenance work.
The project began in early 2024 and had been slated to be complete by 2027, with a break for the World Cup. But painfully long commute times on the clogged highway led the province to kick in additional funds in July 2024 to get the project done faster, with work proceeding overnight and on weekends.
The city said last month that work was “progressing very well” on the project, in part thanks to good weather and “real-time problem solving.”
In a tweet, Premier Doug Ford said the province’s injection of cash to speed up the timeline “is helping fight gridlock and get drivers moving again.”
In a statement, Mayor Olivia Chow said that the province’s funding made the faster timeline possible.
“We have cut the construction time in half. We are fixing Toronto’s infrastructure so it can serve people safely for decades to come,” Chow said. “I want to thank residents for their patience and everyone who worked around the clock to get this done.”
Work is still set to be carried out on other parts of the Gardiner over the next few years. The latest stretch is the second in a six-part Strategic Rehabilitation Plan for the ageing highway.
The first stage, from Jarvis to Cherry streets, was completed in 2021. Future stretches include Highway 427 to Humber River; York Street to Grand Magazine Boulevard; Cherry Street to the Don Valley Parkway; and Humber River to Dufferin Street.
The city said Friday that “acceleration” strategies” are also being used on the next phase and that work is expected to be “substantially complete” by late 2026.
The sped-up completion of the latest stage comes nearly two years after the province announced that it would take ownership over the Gardiner from the City of Toronto as part of a new deal that would save the city billions.
