Stretch of WB Gardiner will lose a lane for 1 year starting April 16

A stretch of the westbound Gardiner Expressway will be reduced from four lanes to three for approximately one year starting next week when the city begins critical repair work on five bridges.

The closure was scheduled to start on Monday, April 7, but Toronto Transportation tells 680 NewsRadio the work has been pushed back to Wednesday, April 16. It is not known what caused the delay.

Once the lane restrictions go into effect, the westbound lane closure will stretch from Park Lawn Road to Grand Avenue in southern Etobicoke.

The eastbound lanes along the same stretch will be narrowed, but with no lane reductions, from April 2025 to December 2026.

The City says Kipling Avenue and Islington Avenue will also be reduced from three lanes in each direction to two lanes where they pass over the Gardiner Expressway for approximately eight months, from April 2025 to November 2025.

A full closure of the Park Lawn Road on-ramp to westbound Gardiner Expressway will take place between November 2025 and April 2026 to replace the single-lane bridge that carries ramp traffic over Mimico Creek.

“Park Lawn Road, where it passes under the Gardiner Expressway, will have single lane reductions, with three lanes maintained at all times,” the City said in a release. “This work is estimated to last approximately four months with timing to be determined and communicated in advance. These lane reductions will not occur at the same time as the closure of the Park Lawn Road on-ramp to the westbound Gardiner Expressway.”

The city says Gardiner construction will be paused from May to July 2026 to accommodate the increased traffic anticipated during the FIFA World Cup.

Despite that brief reprieve, it all adds up to more traffic headaches for already beleaguered commuters, and there’s no real end in sight — at least in the immediate future. The ridge repairs noted above come in advance of more extensive rehabilitation work on Section 3 of the Gardiner Expressway from Highway 427 to the Humber River that’s scheduled to take place from 2027 to 2031.

The City says it’s doing its best to ease the considerable pain.

“The City will implement congestion management measures including traffic monitoring on the Gardiner Expressway and diversion routes, real-time adjustments to traffic signal timings and deploying traffic agents at key intersections during busy periods to help keep traffic flowing,” a release states.

“Prior to construction starting, signage will be installed to advise motorists of the upcoming closures,” the city explained. “Advancing this critical project is necessary to maintain the safety and reliability of the Gardiner Expressway and will be done while balancing the needs of road users with those of residents and businesses in the nearby area.”