The next phase of construction work on Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway is set to begin.

On Monday, the City of Toronto plans to start critical repair work on five bridges along the expressway to ensure they remain in a state of good repair.

Although rehabilitation work on Section 3 of the project, from Highway 427 to the Humber River, is scheduled to take place from 2027 to 2031, five bridges in Section 3 have been identified for an advanced start after condition assessments identified the need for critical repairs.

Included in this scope of work are the Gardiner Expressway overpasses at Park Lawn Road and Mimico Creek, and the westbound on-ramp from Park Lawn Road over Mimico Creek as part of the Ontario-Toronto New Deal. The city will also fund repairs to the Kipling Avenue and Islington Avenue bridges.

The city says the project will incorporate the same acceleration measures as the work on the Gardiner Expressway between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue, including completion incentives, enabling crews to work up to 24 hours a day seven days a week to meet the planned construction schedule.

Advancing this critical project is necessary to maintain the safety and reliability of the Gardiner Expressway and will be done while balancing the needs of road users with those of residents and businesses in the nearby area.

Stage 1 of the Gardiner Expressway Section 2 rehabilitation work was completed four months ahead of the original, pre-acceleration schedule, meeting the target set to help achieve the revised April 2026 accelerated timeline.

Construction on Section 2 of the Gardiner Expressway Strategic Rehabilitation Plan (from Dufferin Street to Strachan Avenue) began in November 2023 with the first lane closures in March 2024.

In July 2024, the city and province announced plans to accelerate the construction work to move the construction completion date from April 2027 to at least April 2026.