The construction being done on Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway, which has reduced a portion of it by a lane in each direction, is months ahead of schedule following its 24-7 work schedule.
“This project, as of now, is four months ahead of schedule,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said at a late-night news conference at the site of construction. “That is worthy of celebration.”
“At 10:20 p.m., I see that there’s still a wall of traffic on the Gardiner, almost bumper to bumper…. Not only is it frustrating, it’s taking time away from your family,” Chow told reporters.
The massive rehabilitation project began in the spring and forced one eastbound lane and one westbound lane between Strachan and Dufferin avenues to close to complete the work.
The current phase of work involves a full demolition of that stretch and rebuilding of 700 metres of elevated roadway, as well as rehabilitating the supporting structures and adding a new traffic management system and streetlights.
The work has caused significant gridlock and increased time sitting in traffic. The more than 60-year-old roadway was expected to be closed for three years and would only fully reopen temporarily for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
However, in July, the Ontario government announced it would give $73 million to Toronto on the condition that work be allowed to proceed on a round-the-clock basis.
The provincial government said the accelerated timeline would move the current construction completion date to “at least” April 2026 from April 2027.
That money followed a brief debate over 24-hour construction on the Gardiner Expressway prompted by comments Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria made to Global News in April that teams should work round the clock.
At the time, he said he was willing to “use any tool” to speed up construction, including allowing the work to take place through the night.
“We’ll work with the city on any slew of measures, (including) looking at 24-hour construction on the Gardiner and see how we can help,” Sarkaria said.
That led to a public back-and-forth over whether that work was already taking place, with teams allowed to complete quiet work through the night but banned from more substantial construction until the recent changes.
As of Wednesday night, Chow said the 24-7 construction has already moved the timeline up by four months.
“That is due to the hard work of the workers here,” Chow said, adding she hopes the construction on the Gardiner Expressway will be completed before the 2026 World Cup games.
“So that we can open up all the lanes, no traffic jams. And people can get home much faster and earlier,” Chow said.
Ontario Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria was also at the site alongside Chow and said there were “almost 100 people working around the clock” to get the construction done faster.
“It’s past 10 p.m., we’re pouring concrete and this is really about making sure we’re doing everything we can to speed up this project,” Sarkaria said.
The City of Toronto previously told Global News that construction hours have been increased to a minimum of 20 hours a day, six days a week, with a seventh day as needed since August.
It also said quieter work would be done overnight, while louder work such as demolition would occur from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
— with files from Global News’ Isaac Callan