If you were planning on heading in or out of the city this weekend, make sure to plan your route accordingly because the Gardiner Expressway will be closed for annual spring maintenance.


Starting this Friday, May 29 at 11 pm through Monday, June 1 at 5 am, the entire Gardiner Expressway will be closed to vehicle traffic from the DVP to Highway 427 for "important annual maintenance and improvements."

According to the City, the annual road maintenance is essential in keeping the Gardiner Expressway in a state of good repair and the roadway is a "key element of Toronto’s transportation system and allows people and goods to travel in and out of the city every day, stimulating economic growth, and development."

The City shuts down the expressway for regular spring or fall maintenance every couple of years, to give road crews, engineers, and other stakeholders proper access so they can make improvements and keep the through-way in a state of good repair.

According to the City, the most recent maintenance weekend took place last fall and was coordinated with important long-term construction staging from Jarvis to Cherry. The maintenance work completed included:

  • 2,323m of grinding and paving
  • 491m guide rail installed/repaired
  • 279 tonnes of asphalt used
  • 4,991m of cracks filled
  • 300 sq. ft. of graffiti removed
  • 11.37 tonnes of litter removal
  • 81 loads (210 tonnes) of debris swept
  • 5 loads (13 tonnes) of wood chipped and removed
  • 9 loads of expressway flushing
  • 500 catch basins cleaned
  • 1,404m of culvert maintained
  • 73 sq. m. of culvert drainage repaired
  • 26 culverts inspected
  • 241 signs inspected
  • 20 light poles repaired
  • 5 light poles installed
  • 3 bridges inspected and chipped
  • 3 crash systems repaired
  • 2 manhole adjustments
  • Whatever you have planned this weekend, to avoid frustration, make sure to plan your driving routes into the city in advance. Drivers may want to consider planning an alternative route in or out of the city and be cautious of work zones.

    Toronto