Westbound Gardiner Expressway lane closes for bridge repairs, will reopen May 2026

The westbound bound Gardiner Expressway was reduced from four lanes to three on Wednesday in a closure that will continue until May 2026. 

The closure, which is happening east of Park Lawn Road to Grand Avenue, is happening so the city can continue critical repair work on five bridges, the city has said. 

"We know that it's going to be hard, but we need to get this work done," said Jennifer Graham Harkness, the city's chief engineer and executive director for engineering and construction services. 

"We are going to be watching things and making sure we can help keep people moving along." 

Also starting Wednesday, the eastbound Gardiner Expressway lanes will be narrowed from Grand Avenue to east of Park Lawn Road, but there will be no lane shutdowns. This will continue until November 2026, the city said. 

Harkness said the city is allowing the contractor to work longer hours, including 24/7 as necessary. It will also provide the contractor incentives to promote getting the work done "as quickly as we can," she said. 

During construction, the city will implement congestion management measures, including traffic monitoring on the Gardiner and real-time adjustments to traffic signal timings, according to a news release last month.

"We fully appreciate that this is going to cause disruption and we are going to be continuing to monitor how the work is advancing," Harkness said. 

People who will be travelling near road closures are advised to plan in advance, allow for extra time and consider taking alternate means of transport, the city said on Tuesday. 

The following closures will also happen on the Gardiner from 11 p.m. on Wednesday until 5 a.m. on Thursday. 

• The eastbound Gardiner Expressway off-ramp to Lake Shore Boulevard at Humber River will be fully closed. 
• The transfer from the eastbound Gardiner Expressway collector lanes to eastbound express lanes between Islington Avenue and Royal York Road will be closed. 
• The eastbound Gardiner Expressway express lanes will be reduced to one lane between Grand Avenue and Humber River.