

Chris Fox, CP24.com





The city has found a way to conduct its annual fall maintenance on the Gardiner Expressway without closing the highway for a weekend as has been the practice in past years.

"Through ongoing co-ordination of construction work and road closures in the city, we’re able to do the maintenance work that usually occurs with the annual fall closure of the Gardiner during other times in conjunction with other projects," Mayor John Tory said in a press release announcing the decision on Tuesday. "This means the city can keep the expressway open during the fall this year. The Gardiner is a major artery of our city and keeping lanes of traffic on the Gardiner open makes a real difference in cutting congestion."

The city’s transportation services division usually shuts down the Gardiner and the Don Valley Parkway for a weekend in the fall and the spring so it can perform maintenance activities but Tory said that this year staff will be able to perform those activities without closing the highway completely.

The mayor, however, cautioned that transportation services staff will likely need to reinstitute the annual fall closure next year.

“They did share that they will definitely be needing the closures on a regular basis next year because there is a lot to be done,” he told reporters at city hall.

The activities that are usually completed on the Gardiner during the annual maintenance windows include road resurfacing, catch basin clearing, bridge inspections, overhead sign inspection and closed circuit TV camera maintenance.

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