News Release
August 12, 2020

The City of Toronto will perform annual maintenance and improvement activities on the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) this weekend from Friday, August 14 at 11 p.m. until Monday, August 17 at 5 a.m. The closure will extend the entire expressway from Highway 401 to the F.G. Gardiner Expressway. The rain date is planned for Friday, August 21 to Monday, August 24.

This year’s annual closure, typically planned for the spring or fall, has been moved to August to take advantage of warmer summer weather as well as lower than normal traffic volumes the city continues to experience. City staff estimate that it would take approximately 30 separate days with lane closures to complete the same amount of highly coordinated work performed in just 54 hours over a single weekend.

Traffic-signal timing changes will be made to enhance traffic flow on nearby routes to help manage traffic congestion associated with the closure.

As well, there will be one ActiveTO major weekend road closure this weekend, along Lake Shore Boulevard West from Stadium Road to Windemere Avenue. ActiveTO weekend closures that would typically be in place on Lake Shore Boulevard East and Bayview Avenue will not be available this weekend in order to provide alternative routes for drivers. All three weekend closures are expected to return the weekend following the DVP maintenance closure. Learn more about ActiveTO.

A full closure of the Don Valley Parkway for one weekend is an important and safe way that City road crews, engineers and other stakeholders, such as Toronto Hydro and the TTC, can make improvements and keep the expressway in the best state of good-repair.

Here are some specific activities that are expected to be undertaken during the closure, all numbers are approximate:

  • 10 lane kilometres of roadway milling and paving
  • 3,600 tonnes of asphalt will be used
  • Inspection and controlled chipping on bridges
  • Construction and repair of roadside ditches
  • Cleaning of bridge joints and catch basins
  • Debris removal and sweeping
  • Graffiti removal
  • Guiderail repairs and replacement
  • Inspection and repair of ‘crash’ barriers
  • Roadside and overhead sign maintenance
  • Inspection of maintenance of RESCU cameras and equipment cabinets
  • Repair of traffic detection equipment
  • Pothole repairs
  • Other work related to expressway lights and utilities may be done by Toronto Hydro.

Motorists can use Kingston Road, Victoria Park Avenue, Leslie Street, Bayview Avenue and Avenue Road as alternative routes into the city during the weekend closure.

This weekend’s DVP maintenance closure has been coordinated with important overnight work related to the renewal of the Gardiner Expressway between Jarvis and Cherry Streets. To facilitate this work and minimize disruption to the travelling public, the westbound lanes of the Gardiner Expressway, from the DVP to the Yonge-Bay-York ramp and the on-ramp to westbound Gardiner Expressway from Lake Shore Boulevard East at Logan Avenue will be fully closed. The first opportunity for motorists to enter westbound Gardiner Expressway is the on-ramp at Jarvis Street. These closures will take place on:

  • Saturday, August 15 at 10 p.m. to Saturday, August 16 at 8 a.m., and;
  • Sunday, August 16 at 10 p.m. until Monday, August 17 at 5 a.m.

A map with the City’s road restrictions is available to residents and visitors to help make their travel plans.

In addition, the City’s T.O. INview map shows planned capital construction work taking place across the city.

Details about this closure are available at toronto.ca/dvp

This work is part of the City’s comprehensive, co-ordinated strategy to rehabilitate and upgrade Toronto’s roads, transit and underground infrastructure for current and future needs.

Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit the City’s website or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Media Relations