City council has voted 36 to 5 to redevelop the Gardiner Expressway on the specifications of the Hybrid Plan. The rather overwhelming detail of the project is made a bit clearer by the points below. This was the plan which was only narrowly accepted by council last summer. Politically, it seems like an enormous win for Mayor Tory, who last year adopted the Hybrid as the way to go Some Councillors seemed to reflect exhaustion and inevitability. Councillors Pam McConnel and Kristyn Wong-Tam voted reluctantly in favour, as no doubt did others. The stretch of roadway in question is 1.7-km long and contains these elements:
- Maintains elevated stretch of the Gardiner Expressway west of the Don Valley Parkway.
- The elevated deck would need to be replaced.
- Existing on and off ramps east of the Don River that extend to Logan Avenue would be demolished.
- East of the Don River, Lake Shore Boulevard East would be reconstructed into a six-lane, tree-lined boulevard.
- Drivers would be able to get on or off the Gardiner on new ramps built between the Don River and Cherry Street.
- Construction would take about six years total; up to a year and a half of road detours would be required.
- Ninety per cent of commuter trip times would remain more or less unchanged but some trips from the east will take an estimated three to five minutes longer than if the
- Gardiner remained unchanged.
- Cost: About $414 million up front in capital costs and $505 million for operations and maintenance over the anticipated 100-year lifecycle.
