FIFA World Cup organizers, athletes, and many visitors are expected to fill the city when Toronto hosts six of the international soccer matches in June and July, and some are worried about delays related to construction on Toronto’s roads.
“It’s already a disaster as we can see, and they need to finish every single (piece of) work there is going on right now before FIFA,” Jubair Rahman, who drives downtown for work, told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.
The city said in a statement that it remains committed to balancing the needs of the World Cup with ongoing construction, and expects to complete three big projects by the time the the tournament kicks off.
Those projects include one along Queen Street East between the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) on-ramp and Broadview Avenue to replace old streetcar tracks and a watermain.
Others expected to be completed is the rehabilitation of the DVP Richmond off-ramp, and major work related to a watermain and road project on Queen’s Park Crescent near College Street.
“As Toronto prepares to host FIFA World Cup 2026 events, construction activities will be restricted on key routes and in certain parts of the city, for the period from May 1 to July 31, 2026,” the city’s statement said.
“Some projects may need to be completed in advance of this period or paused to avoid impacting critical stages during this period, while others may need to delay starting until after the tournament.”
“Get rid of all those barriers, the road blocks and all that, they are not going anywhere,” said Rahman. “They said they are going to pause but those (barriers) are going to be there, so we are losing lanes.”
Transit agencies and construction leading up to the World Cup
As for potential transit disruptions, the TTC said there is no work scheduled during the World Cup and any projects it has with the city could also be paused.
For its part, Metrolinx told CTV News Toronto construction will continue on Ontario Line at work sites, but all trucking in and out of the Exhibition Place area will pause for approximately 12 hours on the six match days to avoid impacting games, fans, customers and the public.
“Metrolinx continues to work collaboratively with its partners to ensure construction coordination plans are robust and safe and clear wayfinding will be in place to ensure people can get around the city,” the transit agency said a statement.
Torontonians share how they’d like to see road travel improve
To make road travel smooth for the World Cup, residents who spoke with CTV News said they’d like to see more transit, more signage, see the city control construction and communicate if timelines on projects change.
“It’s going to be very busy, but I’m excited though,” one motorist in the Queen Street East area told CTV News. “I mean, it’s a big city so we have big city problems, but FIFA is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so we just have to adjust to it and get around.”
“Chaotic, but if they have good management... I heard during the Taylor Swift concerts they did a good job, so I hope that will be in effect as well,” said a woman who uses transit in the city but has a vehicle for trips further afield.
“Two of those projects affect me, so hopefully it’s not going to get any worse than it is already,” another man said Wednesday.
