A police investigation into mysterious remains closed a section of the Gardiner Expressway for hours Tuesday night, backing up traffic across the city as commuters struggled to get home.

Toronto police are determining whether they are human or animal remains.

The material was found just after 7 p.m. on the highway near Kipling Ave., police said. The westbound express lanes of the highway west of Grand Ave. remained closed late into Tuesday night.

Peel Police said they have not received any indication the discovery is linked to the body parts found in Toronto and Mississauga earlier this month belonging to Guang Hua Liu, 41, of Scarborough.

On the Gardiner, police officers scoured the area under the Kipling overpass, flashlight beams sweeping across the roadway and a cluster of about three dozen evidence markers placed nearby.

Police photographed and examined at least four small mounds of brownish material.

They gradually made their way down the highway, checking along the edges of the road next to the median and in the ditch between the express and collector lanes.

Toronto police noted they have had eight similar calls in recent days. All turned out to be animal remains, but they said they are taking precautions.

“Let’s face it, people discard the weirdest stuff, everything from dead rabbits, cats, dogs, fish,” said Const. Joanne Tawton. But after the recent homicide case, she said people are naturally quicker to notice a suspicious bag or smell and more likely to call police when they do.

Regardless of the increase or the Liu homicide, she said their approach to investigating possible remains has not changed.

“We treat it all the same,” she said. “We treat everything seriously until we determine otherwise.”

Peel police said they have also seen an increase in calls since the discovery of the first body part in Mississauga.

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“We’ve had quite a few people call about plastic bags in the water,” said Const. Fiona Thivierge.

None of these calls led to a discovery, she said. Only one led to remains — those of a deer carcass.

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