The City of Toronto has achieved a construction milestone in the Strategic Rehabilitation of the Gardiner Expressway between Jarvis and Cherry Streets. Crews have replaced the concrete deck and steel girders on the north half of the expressway, the westbound off-ramp to Sherbourne Street and repaired the westbound off-ramp to Yonge-Bay-York Streets, and will now transition to renew the south half of the expressway for the final phase of work.
At 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, July 26, the westbound off-ramp to Yonge-Bay-York Streets will reopen to traffic following repairs that closed the ramp on April 18. At 5 a.m. on Monday, July 27 the work zone will transition to reopen the north half of the expressway and fully close the south half of the Gardiner Expressway between Jarvis and Cherry Streets so crews can replace the concrete deck and steel girders of the expressway. Two lanes of traffic in each direction will be maintained on the newly completed north half of the expressway from the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) to York Street. The project is on-track for completion by Spring 2021.
From Saturday, July 25 to Monday, July 27, there will be traffic restrictions on the Gardiner Expressway from the DVP to Jarvis Street to safely transition the work zone. These restrictions include:
Due to the transition, the ActiveTO major road closures on Lake Shore Boulevard East from Leslie Street to just south of Woodbine Avenue and Bayview Avenue from Front Street East to Rosedale Valley Road will be cancelled this weekend, July 25 and 26. The ActiveTO closure will continue to take place on Lake Shore Boulevard West from Windermere Avenue to Stadium Road. On the Civic Holiday long weekend, Saturday, August 1 to Monday, August 3, all ActiveTO major road closures are expected to be in effect.
Crews will primarily work around-the-clock on a 24/7 basis to accelerate the project and reduce the length of construction. The majority of the most disruptive work should be completed by 11 p.m. most days. However, in some instances disruptive work must be performed overnight for the safety of crews and the travelling public.
During construction, Lake Shore Boulevard East will be reduced to one lane in each direction between Parliament and Jarvis Streets: Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday to Sunday from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and Sunday to Thursday from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. These lane restrictions are needed so crews can safely remove and replace sections of the concrete expressway deck above.
To complete this work in a way that’s faster and less disruptive than traditional methods, the City is using an innovative construction technique called Accelerated Bridge Construction to replace the expressway concrete deck and steel girders. This technique involves pre-fabricating the new sections of the expressway, or panels, off site and transferring the new panels into place where existing sections have been removed. This method causes less dust and noise and can reduce construction time by up to 40 per cent.
This project is significant given the scale of the work with the added complexities of the work zone located in an urban centre, in close proximity to buildings and over a major arterial road.
The renewal of the Gardiner Expressway between Jarvis Street and Cherry Street is part of the first project of the Gardiner Expressway Strategic Rehabilitation Plan. The Gardiner Expressway Strategic Rehabilitation Plan addresses the immediate and long-term rehabilitation needs of the entire expressway from Highway 427 to the Don Valley Parkway to ensure it remains in a safe and operable condition, now and in the future.
More information about this work is available at toronto.ca/JarvisToCherry.
Residents, businesses and visitors are encouraged to use the City’s web-based map at toronto.ca/roadrestrictions to help plan their travel and avoid road closures.
Information about the City’s planned capital construction work is available at toronto.ca/inview.
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