Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Don Valley Parkway maintenance closure reduced to one day due to forecast rain


Friday, 24 May 2019 08:00.AM

Due to forecast rain, the City of Toronto will fully close the Don Valley Parkway, from the F.G. Gardiner Expressway to Highway 401, for approximately 29 hours. Spring maintenance and improvement activities will take place from Saturday, May 25 at midnight until Monday, May 27 at 5 a.m.

The closure was originally planned for a full weekend (Friday, May 24 at midnight until Monday, May 27 at 5 a.m.) but forecast rain on Saturday will impede significant road resurfacing work that was planned. City staff will explore alternate dates over the summer when the resurfacing work can be completed with limited impact to the travelling public.

"I want to thank staff for closely monitoring the forecast and shifting their plans on short notice to still get much of the important scheduled maintenance work done on Sunday. Fortunately however, the DVP will now be available on Saturday, along with the TTC, for residents and visitors coming downtown to cheer on the Toronto Raptors in Game 6 and the Toronto Blue Jays, and to take part in other significant events like Doors Open."
- Mayor John Tory

A full closure of the Don Valley Parkway, even for just one day, is an important and safe way that City road crews, engineers and other stakeholders, such as Toronto Hydro and Metrolinx, make improvements and keep the roadway in good repair. Traffic signal timing changes will be in effect to enhance traffic flow on nearby routes and mitigate traffic congestion associated with the expressway's closure.

Some specific activities that will be undertaken during the closure include:
• Asphalt patching and sealing
• Inspection of and controlled chipping on 13 bridges
• Cleaning of bridge joints and catch basins
• Debris removal and sweeping
• Graffiti removal
• Guiderail repairs, including replacement at nine locations
• Inspection and repair of crash barriers
• Roadside and overhead sign maintenance
• Inspection and maintenance of RESCU cameras and equipment cabinets
• Pothole repairs
• Other work related to expressway lights and utilities done by Toronto Hydro and Crosslinx

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

Drivers should also be aware of other work taking place downtown this weekend. In addition to planned construction, Bathurst Street between King Street West and Wellington Street West will be restricted for emergency TTC track repair, and Richmond Street West from Bay to York Streets will be fully closed for a crane hoist for a private development on Saturday, with a rain date scheduled for Sunday.

A map is available to residents and visitors to help make their travel plans, available at http://www.toronto.ca/roa....

In addition, the City's T.O. INview map shows planned capital construction work taking place across the city. T.O. Inview can be accessed at http://www.toronto.ca/inv....

Residents and visitors travelling in and around the city are encouraged to use public transit and can plan their travel at http://www.ttc.ca/ or https://www.gotransit.com/.

Details about this closure are available at http://www.toronto.ca/exp...

This work is part of the City's comprehensive, co-ordinated strategy to rehabilitate and upgrade Toronto's roads, transit and underground infrastructure for current and future needs.