The section of the Gardiner Expressway between Jarvis Street and Cherry Street is nearing the end of its service life and is the number one priority for rehabilitation in the Gardiner Expressway Strategic Rehabilitation Plan.
The City of Toronto is renewing this section of the expressway in a way that’s faster and less disruptive than ever done before.
This work is using an innovative construction method called Accelerated Bridge Construction, which can reduce the construction time by approximately 40 per cent and minimize the impact on the travelling public as well as reduce noise and dust impacts.
Yonge-Bay-York westbound off-ramp will be fully closed for extensive repairs (known as rehabilitation)
Consider other westbound off-ramps such as Lower Sherbourne Street or Spadina Avenue
To access downtown, consider alternate routes such as exit the DVP onto Richmond Street, exit the Gardiner at Jarvis Street and enter from the east, exit the Gardiner at Spadina Avenue or travel on Lake Shore Boulevard westbound to access Yonge, Bay or York Streets
Lower Sherbourne / Lower Jarvis Street westbound off-ramp will be fully closed for replacement
During construction, only one ramp will be closed at a time and this work will begin after the Yonge-Bay-York westbound off-ramp is complete
Consider alternate off-ramps such as Yonge-Bay-York or Spadina Avenue, or take the Don Valley Parkway southbound to the Richmond Street East exit
11:59 p.m. on October 4 to April 18, 2020
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Gardiner Expressway Deck Replacement – North Side between Jarvis Street & Cherry Street
The north side of the Gardiner Expressway between Jarvis Street and Cherry Street will be fully closed for full replacement of the concrete deck and steel girders
Two lanes of eastbound and westbound traffic will remain open on the south side of the expressway
There will be closures on the westbound lanes of Lake Shore
Boulevard East during off-peak hours (between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday to Thursday) and there may be instances in the off-peak hours where traffic will be paused for 15 minutes so crews can safely remove and replace sections of the expressway above
The City is allowing for longer Lake Shore Boulevard East lane closures to help accelerate construction for the rehabilitation work to the Gardiner Expressway between Cherry Street and Lower Jarvis Street. Lake Shore Blvd E westbound lanes will be reduced to one lane from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., Sunday to Thursday, and from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday to Sunday.
This phase is using an innovative technique called Accelerated Bridge Construction which can reduce construction time by up to 40 per cent
This technique removes sections of the existing expressway deck and replaces it with custom built pre-fabricated sections.
5 a.m. on October 14 to July 27, 2020
Overview of 2020 Construction Work
Work Phase
2020 Construction Activity
Details
Timeline
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Ramp Replacement – Eastbound On-Ramp at Jarvis Street
The eastbound on-ramp at Jarvis Street will be fully closed for replacement
May 18, 2020 to Spring 2021
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Gardiner Expressway Deck Replacement – South Side between Jarvis Street & Cherry Street
The south side of the Gardiner Expressway between Jarvis Street and Cherry Street will be fully closed for full replacement of the concrete deck and steel girders
This work will take place at the same time as the replacement of the eastbound on-ramp at Jarvis Street
Two lanes of eastbound and westbound traffic will remain open on the north side of the expressway
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the City is allowing for longer Lake Shore Boulevard East lane closures to help accelerate 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. There also may be instances in the off-peak hours where traffic will be paused for 15 minutes so crews can safely remove and replace sections of the expressway above
The deck and ramp replacement is using an innovative technique called Accelerated Bridge Construction which can reduce construction time by up to 40 per cent
This technique removes sections of the existing expressway deck or ramp and replaces it with custom built pre-fabricated sections.
July 27, 2020 to Spring 2021
Accelerated Bridge Construction
About Accelerated Bridge Construction
This project is using an accelerated bridge construction method that can reduce the construction time by as much as 40 per cent compared to traditional methods. This will be the first time this method has ever been used in Toronto and at this scale in an urban centre.
This method involves building sections (i.e. panels) of the new expressway off-site in a climate controlled facility, or fabrication site, and then transferring the sections into place on the Expressway where existing sections have been removed.
Faster, Less Disruptive & Higher Quality Construction
Using this accelerated method, this project – which spans a 1.5km work zone – will be completed in less than two years. In comparison, the work on the Gardiner West deck rehabilitation from Bathurst Street to Strachan Avenue used traditional methods and took two and a half years to complete with a work zone half the size.
Unlike traditional methods, accelerated bridge construction does not require regular jack-hammering and therefore reduces the impact of noise and dust. As well, since the components are made in a quality and climate controlled facility, the final construction product is typically of a better quality.
Fabrication Site
You may have noticed heavy machinery, site trailers and large tent structures on lands by Lakeshore Blvd East near Cherry Street. This is the City’s fabrication site and staging area for the Gardiner Expressway Strategic Rehabilitation from Jarvis to Cherry Street.
The large tent structures is the fabrication site where crews will build nearly 400 panels that will replace the expressway deck between Jarvis to Cherry Streets and the westbound off-ramp at Sherbourne Street and the eastbound on-ramp at Jarvis Street. Each panel is unique to the design of the expressway and ramps.
Fabrication site under construction, these facilities are where the expressway and ramp replacement panels will be build. Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
Steel girders which will be used to create the new expressway panels arrive at the fabrication site
Cranes lift the steel girder from the truck onto a concrete platform
