Don Valley Parkway

The Don Valley Parkway, often referred to as the DVP, is a 15 kilometre long expressway that runs from the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto to Highway 401 and is one of the City’s most vital transit arterial roads.

Approximately 135,000 (weekday average) vehicles travel daily on the Don Valley Parkway.

  • Completed in 1966, the Don Valley Parkway is a 15 km long expressway that runs from the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto to Highway 401
  • The Parkway is a vital transit artery in Toronto’s travel network as it is the sole expressway connecting the north and south ends of the city
  • The Don Valley Parkway, often referred to as the DVP, runs east of the Don River through Toronto’s vibrant Don River Valley parklands
  • In its 15 km length, the DVP is primarily six lanes with 12 exits
  • The DVP north of highway 401 continues as highway 404
  • Traffic often exceeds its original design of 60,000 vehicles per day
  • The parkway has designated bus lanes to allow passing during slow traffic
  • On June 7, 2010, a section of the expressway was dedicated by former Toronto mayor David Miller as part of the Route of Heroes

The City performs regular spring maintenance every couple years on the Don Valley Parkway. This maintenance typically involves a full or partial closure of the expressway over a weekend that allows City road crews, engineers and other stakeholders to make improvements and keep the throughway in a state of good repair.

The most recent maintenance weekend took place from April 20 to 22, 2018 and the work completed included:

  • 33,200 square metres of grinding and paving
  • 4,503 tonnes of asphalt used
  • 19,434 metres of crack sealing
  • 226 metres of guiderail repaired
  • eight crash systems repaired and 17 inspected
  • 248 tonnes of debris removed
  • 268 square metres of graffiti removed
  • 546 catch basins cleaned and flushed
  • 103 potholes filled
  • 689 trees pruned/removed
  • 41 tonnes of logs and wood chipped
  • 22 bridges inspected, 11 received concrete chipping as a result of inspection
  • 98,274 metres of line painting installed
  • 260 signs including overhead signs inspected, maintained and repaired
  • 27 traffic control cabinets inspected and repaired
  • one VMS (Variable Message Sign) site assessment completed
  • six CCTV (Close Circuit Television) cameras inspected
  • 17 RESCU vehicle loop detectors repaired

View the 2018 DVP maintenance Video.