Road Safety Questioned Following Overpass Collapse
Posted October 2, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
As safety inspections continue in Quebec following the weekend collapse of a Laval viaduct that claimed five lives, questions are being raised over whether Torontonians face a similar risk when they take to the roads.
Toronto spends between $10 million and $12 million each year maintaining its streets and overpasses, including the Gardiner Expressway. However, chunks of concrete have fallen from the busy highway in the past and engineers caution that it could happen again.
The future of the Gardiner was discussed in city council last week when a report was released detailing the cost of several options including maintaining it, tearing down part of it, or replacing it with a tunnel. Maintenance is tabbed at about half a billion dollars, while the most expensive option, building a tunnel, would reportedly cost about $2 billion.
The Gardiner is 60 years old and carries 16,000 vehicles a day. Some experts say it’s not unusual to have pieces of concrete fall off it, as was the case in February of 1999 when a large chunk fell from the highway’s underside.
“It can be any size of concrete falling off. I mean it could be a little piece, (or) it can be a big rock,” said engineer Jose Gutierrez.
Drivers around the GTA didn’t seem too concerned about the possibility of the Laval scenario replaying itself in Toronto.
“In general I think it’s unlikely to happen,” said one motorist, Sergio. “I wouldn’t worry about that.”
Mayor David Miller says road collapses like the one that occurred at Bathurst St. and Sheppard Ave. in April are uncommon.
“Our bridges are inspected annually and for the first time in a very long time this year we started addressing the backlog in road repairs and I’m proud of that investment,” Miller said.
City officials say Toronto’s 530 bridges are inspected in detail by structural engineers annually and checked daily to make sure they’re safe.
