Don Valley Parkway (DVP)

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.

History & Facts

• Completed in 1966, the DVP is a 15 km long expressway that runs from the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto to Highway 401
• The DVP 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 DVP runs east of the Don River through Toronto’s vibrant Don River Valley parklands
• In its 15 kilometre 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 with approximately 135,000 (weekday average) vehicles travel daily on the DVP
• The parkway has designated bus lanes to allow passing during slow traffic
• On June 7, 2010, a section of the DVP was dedicated by former Toronto mayor David Miller as part of the Route of Heroes

Annual Maintenance

The City of Toronto performs regular spring or fall maintenance activities on the Don Valley Parkway during overnight hours using rolling lane closures to minimize traffic congestion. This road maintenance is essential to keeping the Don Valley Parkway in good repair.

Maintenance activities include milling and paving, pothole repairs, controlled chipping on bridges, clearing of bridge joints and catch basins, street sweeping, graffiti and litter removal, landscaping, replacing streetlights, repainting pavement markings, guiderail repairs, sign maintenance, inspection and repair of RESCU cameras, and more.

When a significant number of kilometres of pavement milling and paving is required, a full weekend closure is scheduled. It would take approximately 30 to 40 separate daily lane closures to complete the same amount of highly coordinated work that will be performed in just 54 hours over a single weekend.