City could close lanes under Gardiner after 3rd incident of falling concrete

The city will close or protect any areas under the Gardiner Expressway where it thinks it’s too risky for pedestrians after a third incident of falling concrete from the bridge.

“If we see areas under the Gardiner Expressway…and we can’t make them safe…we are going to cordone them off, and we will try to minimize traffic when we do that,” Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong told CityNews Channel on Thursday night.

The city has pledged to inspect pedestrian areas under the Gardiner by Friday, and the surface area of the Gardiner itself by June 15.

“Nothing could happen, we could have some delays, we don’t know,” Minnan-Wong said. “But I think most people would agree we need to put safety first and if that means we have to close off portions of a sidewalk, safety would trump convenience.”

Minnan-Wong, who is chair of the city’s public works committee, brought his concerns to Mayor Rob Ford on Wednesday, who approved the inspection blitz.

The city had already approved additional funds to repair the Gardiner earlier this month, but after the third piece of concrete fell, Minnan-Wong asked for increased inspections.

The city has brought in two expert chipping crews who will work overnight to complete the repairs identified during the inspection, including removing loose concrete. That work is scheduled to be completed by the end of June.

“Our engineering staff still say that the Gardiner Expressway is safe.  I don’t want to be alarmist that the sky is falling because it’s not. But we are concerned,” Minnan-Wong said.

Chunks of concrete have been falling from under the bridge beginning this month. One piece fell onto Lake Shore Boulevard West just east of Lower Jarvis Street on May 7. And three days later, another piece fell onto Parkside Drive near Lake Shore. The third incident occurred Tuesday by Lower Simcoe Street.

In each of those incidents no injuries or traffic accidents occurred.

“If we need we’ll close off pedestrian areas to make sure that they’re safe, or we’ll re-route pedestrians around some of the more concerning areas until we can make sure that they’re clear,” Peter Crockett, executive director of Toronto’s Technical Services told CityNews.