The City of Toronto performs regular spring and fall maintenance activities on the F.G. Gardiner Expressway during overnight hours using rolling lane closures to minimize traffic congestion. This road maintenance is essential in keeping the F.G. Gardiner Expressway in a state of 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 street lights, repainting pavement markings, guiderail repairs, sign maintenance, inspection and repairs 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.
In accordance with Provincial guidelines, the City conducts visual inspections of the Gardiner Expressway every two years that include the underside of the elevated portion.
In addition, up-close detailed inspections of the expressway are conducted twice per year, including the underside of the elevated portion and fascia (a concrete cover).
There is potential for pieces of concrete from the underside of the structure to become loose as the expressway is more than 60 years old. While these incidents are serious, they are not an indication that the expressway is not structurally sound.
After several concrete falls were recorded from the Gardiner Expressway in 2012, the City enhanced its inspection and controlled chipping program to remove potentially loose pieces of concrete cover from the sides or underside of the structure.