Construction beginning on Toronto’s Lake Shore Boulevard East project

Parliament strip

Ontario Construction News staff writer

Construction details of the planned Lake Shore Boulevard East project have been released by the City of Toronto and Waterfront Toronto.

Work includes removal of the Logan Avenue ramp at the most eastern portion of the Gardiner Expressway, as part of both the Gardiner Expressway Rehabilitation Plan and Port Lands Flood Mitigation Protection project.

Construction manager EllisDon says work about to get underway will support the planned realignment of the expressway and includes:

portlands

  • permanent removal of the Logan Avenue ramp at the east end of the Gardiner Expressway
  • widening and lengthening the Lake Shore Bridge over the Don River, and
    rebuilding the roadway between Don Roadway and Carlaw Avenue, including new safer intersections, pedestrian and cycling facilities.

Removal of the Logan Avenue ramp is the first step of the realignment work and allows for the Lake Shore Bridge to be lengthened and widened. Once the Lake Shore Bridge is re-engineered, the new space will accommodate bike lanes, pedestrian paths and a new linear park, and allow for the re-design and naturalization of the Don River, which will be a critical element for future flood protection.

The project was designed and engineered to be as efficient as possible, including cost savings of approximately $35 million and a shorter construction period which will reduce traffic disruption by two years and deliver infrastructure improvements four years earlier than originally planned.

Extensive consultation has taken place with residents, businesses and interest groups over the past few years, and there is on-going communication planned to help the local community understand the work and its immediate and long-term impacts.

There has been significant planning undertaken to ensure flow of traffic continues during and after construction such as changes to lane configuration and traffic signal timing. Reconstruction at nearby intersections and ramps to/from the Gardiner Expressway has also been planned and implemented to improve the traffic flow during construction.

The Gardiner Rehabilitation Plan calls for new DVP ramps to eventually be built further north as well as the eventual construction of new access ramps at Cherry Street.

Modelling shows that most impacted trips will choose to use Lake Shore Boulevard once the ramps are removed, and that the larger traffic volumes are eastbound. Given this, the project will keep two lanes eastbound and one lane westbound open on Lake Shore for the duration of construction.

The recommended alternate route for drivers travelling eastbound on Lake Shore Boulevard East is to follow Cherry Street north to Eastern Avenue eastbound. For drivers travelling westbound on Lake Shore Boulevard, drivers can also travel north on Leslie Street and westbound on Eastern Avenue.

Work will begin Aug. 31. In November, construction will begin on Lake Shore Boulevard and all roadway construction is expected to be completed in 2024.

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