The Gardiner Expressway East Comes Down

It was the on-ramp to an expressway that was never built. In the 1960s, planners envisioned highways reaching into all suburbs of the city, including southern Scarborough. Because of the cost and a growing public belief that building more highways would not solve traffic congestion, only a 1.3-kilometre section of the planned Scarborough Expressway was ever built. It became known as the Gardiner Expressway East, an extension of the Gardiner Expressway from the Don Valley Parkway east to Leslie Street.

Concrete pillars supporting metal beams of a former highway that ends as if it has been cut off. — Demolition of Leslie Street ramp viewed from north side of detour, looking south-eastPhotographer: Peter MacCallumJanuary 20, 2001Series 572, File 77.

By the 1990s, the expressway’s elevated structure had become too expensive to maintain. In 1999, Toronto City Council voted to demolish the elevated section of the Gardiner Expressway East, and replace it with an improved and higher-capacity Lake Shore Boulevard East that would include bicycle lanes, landscaping, and a public art project.

Large yellow machine hammers at top of old deck, and concrete dust falls below — Removing desk and cutting ties between beams, top end of new ramp, Photographer: Peter MacCallum, September 29, 2000, Series 572, File 42

Award-winning photographer Peter MacCallum was hired by the City’s Works and Emergency Services Department to document the demolition and reconstruction work. Industrial environments have been a particular interest of MacCallum’s throughout his career, and his photographs of this project show the dismantling of the elevated expressway, the reconstruction of Lake Shore Boulevard East, and the building of new on and off ramps to connect the main Gardiner Expressway to the new Lake Shore Boulevard East. The images shown here are only a small selection from over 1300 photographs MacCallum took during the project.

Click on any image below to see an enlarged image

Standing on deck of expressway, worker uses circular saw to cut something on worktable — Forming a new deck for crossover lanes, Photographer: Peter MacCallum, September 1, 2000, Series 572, File 25

Road under construction underneath elevated expressway. — Existing bents being restored east of the Don Valley Parkway, looking west, August 26, 2000, Photographer: Peter MacCallum, Series 572, File 22.

Concrete expressway on pillars ends suddenly as though cut off. — End of eastbound Gardiner west of Leslie Street, Photographer: Peter MacCallum, August 3, 1997, Series 572 , File 1.

Worker guides concrete pouring into a concrete form in a hole in the ground — Pouring a footing for a new bent near Saulter Street, looking east, Photographer: Peter MacCallum, June 30-July 1, 2000, Series 572, File 9

Bright yellow metal support structure and concrete forms under expressway deck — Framework for cap beam of new bent at Saulter Street, Photographer: Peter MacCallum, September 13, 2000, Series 572, File 32

Workers guide concrete from overhead hose onto roadbed — Crew pouring concrete on north side of new deck, Photographer: Peter MacCallum,
September 13, 2000, Series 572, File 34

Worker standing on scaffold repairs old concrete support pillar — Work on old deck Work on old deck, Photographer: Peter MacCallum, September 18, 2000, Series 572, File 35

New columns standing beside old elevated expressway — New columns to support extension of cap beams on existing bents, Photographer: Peter MacCallum, September 29, 2000, Series 572, File 41

Looking into distance along old concrete support pillars with deck of expressway gone — South side of deck removed opposite Booth Avenue, looking west, Photographer: Peter MacCallum, November 4 or 15, 2000, Series 572, File 50

Red concrete truck has long crane-like arm that lifts hose up to deck of elevated expressway. — Concrete pumping setup for new deck section, looking east, Photographer: Peter MacCallum, November 25, 2000, Series 572, File 54.