Don Valley Parkway closed all weekend for annual maintenance

Aug 12 2020, 7:59 pm

The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) will be closed this weekend for annual maintenance and improvements.

From Friday, August 14 at 11 pm until Monday, August 17 at 5 am, the closure will extend the entire expressway from Highway 401 to the F.G. Gardiner Expressway.

The rain date is planned for Friday, August 21 to Monday, August 24.

“This year’s annual closure, typically planned for the spring or fall, has been moved to August to take advantage of warmer summer weather as well as lower than normal traffic volumes the city continues to experience,” the City said in a release.

“City staff estimate that it would take approximately 30 separate days with lane closures to complete the same amount of highly coordinated work performed in just 54 hours over a single weekend.”

It’s important to note that traffic-signal timing changes will be made to enhance traffic flow on nearby routes to help manage congestion due to the closure.

Here are some activities that are expected to be undertaken during the closure (all numbers are approximate):

  • 10 lane kilometres of roadway milling and paving
  • 3,600 tonnes of asphalt will be used
  • Inspection and controlled chipping on bridges
  • Construction and repair of roadside ditches
  • Cleaning of bridge joints and catch basins
  • Debris removal and sweeping
  • Graffiti removal
  • Guiderail repairs and replacement
  • Inspection and repair of “crash” barriers
  • Roadside and overhead sign maintenance
  • Inspection of maintenance of RESCU cameras and equipment cabinets
  • Repair of traffic detection equipment
  • Pothole repairs
  • Other work related to expressway lights and utilities may be done by Toronto Hydro

During the weekend, motorists can use Kingston Road, Victoria Park Avenue, Leslie Street, Bayview Avenue and Avenue Road as alternative routes into the city.

According to the City, this weekend’s DVP maintenance closure has been coordinated with “important overnight work” related to the renewal of the Gardiner Expressway between Jarvis and Cherry Streets.

“To facilitate this work and minimize disruption to the travelling public, the westbound lanes of the Gardiner Expressway, from the DVP to the Yonge-Bay-York ramp and the on-ramp to westbound Gardiner Expressway from Lake Shore Boulevard East at Logan Avenue will be fully closed,” the City says.

The first opportunity for motorists to enter westbound Gardiner Expressway is the on-ramp at Jarvis Street. These closures will take place on:

  • Saturday, August 15 at 10 pm to Saturday, August 16 at 8 am
  • Sunday, August 16 at 10 pm until Monday, August 17 at 5 am

As well, there will be one ActiveTO major weekend road closure this weekend, along Lake Shore Boulevard West from Stadium Road to Windemere Avenue.

ActiveTO weekend closures that would typically be in place on Lake Shore Boulevard East and Bayview Avenue will not be available this weekend in order to provide alternative routes for drivers.

But all three weekend closures are expected to return the weekend following the DVP maintenance closure.

DH Toronto StaffDH Toronto Staff

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