The city is speeding up 32 road construction projects across Toronto in 2017 to “minimize the impact on people” Mayor John Tory said during a visit to the Wellington Street construction project.
That site was one initiative in a five-point traffic update the mayor delivered on Thursday after spending the last two-and-a-half years advocating for improvements during city council sessions.
READ MORE: Toronto officials warn of ‘disruptive’ 2017 construction season
The city will spend an extra $280,000 to accelerate construction along Wellington Street with the expectation of fully reopening the roadway about two months ahead of schedule.
“I think if I asked the citizens of Toronto where they would invest $280,000,” said Tory, “they would certainly include on that list an ability to speed up by two months a construction project here on Wellington.”
READ MORE: Wellington Street lane reductions begin April 10
The original plan for the project called for a reduction of traffic to one lane in each direction between Church Street and York Street from April until late October.
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READ MORE: York-Bay-Yonge exit on eastbound Gardiner Expressway closed permanently
However, Tory said that work should now be completed by mid-August due to further investment. The extra money will allow the contractor to complete underground water main work during overnight hours as opposed to between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. as originally contracted for by the city.
The mayor also updated the status of the York-Bay-Yonge ramp demolition assuring nearby residents that they have taken steps to minimize the noise by avoiding further overnight work on weekends.
WATCH ABOVE: Residents living off the Queens Quay say noise from overnight construction on the Gardiner Expressway exit ramp, is keeping them up. The city says the 24-hour work is necessary.
The mayor did not elaborate on any further road construction projects that would be sped up, but did say that city staff were stepping up the timetable on several developments “at some extra cost.”
The final two points of Tory’s updates also included the management of traffic congestion and how further analysis of trouble spots would be done through the use of real-time data going forward as opposed to historical data, and that site-by-site audits of lanes have led to the city reopening seven lanes to traffic with nine more reopening soon.
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