West end Dufferin jog is no more

The west end detour known as the Dufferin jog is no longer, as city officials unveiled Thursday a new tunnel that connects Dufferin Street under a rail bridge at Queen Street.

Several years in the making, but something the city has been meaning to do for more than a century, the 70 metre underpass will allow drivers and commuters to sail in or out of the city’s south end, easing the congestion built up by diverting traffic around the block at Peel Avenue to rejoin Dufferin below Queen.

Mayor David Miller, in the dying days of his administration, joined Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone, outgoing TTC chair Adam Giambrone and Parkdale-High Park Councillor Gord Perks at the launch.

“For well over 100 years a key transportation artery in the west end of Toronto didn’t really work. It was inconvenient for the people who lived here, caused problems for the residential neighbourhoods in this area and it caused very significant problems for the TTC Dufferin bus,” Mayor David Miller told the crowd taking photos of the event. “It has taken literally three generations of elected officials to make this change happen.”

The project was budgeted at $40-million, and was been delayed. It could have been delayed further, after Metrolinx made a pitch to add an extra train track for future GO service. Steve Lipkus, executive director of the Georgetown South Project, reasoned it would have been easier to have the work done while the road was already closed, but city officials did not want to postpone completion. “Everyone wanted to get Dufferin Street opened up,” said Mr. Lipkus. Metrolinx will be adding the track at a future date.

Alex Badley, general manager of the nearby Gladstone Hotel, welcomed the new tunnel, and praised it for being “one of the least intrusive” projects in the neighbourhood.

“You’re expecting lots of road closures, and road work, and I think I can count on one hand the number of times either Queen or Gladstone was closed for whatever work they were doing,” said Mr. Badley, who is looking forward to much less traffic congestion on Gladstone.