East Gardiner Expressway may not be 'usable' in 6 years

The eastern portion of Toronto's Gardiner Expressway may not be fit for use if repairs on the road surface aren't carried out in six years, according to a staff briefing note.

The note, published Wednesday, says that only emergency repairs have been conducted on the portion of the expressway east of Jarvis Street since the summer of 2008, when council under then-mayor David Miller deferred all work except what was deemed "essential."

"The current bridge deck cannot be maintained in perpetuity," says the briefing note. "Significant delays beyond six years will translate into the current deck not being usable."

Additional work on that portion had been held up by council at the time because the city was looking into the possibility of dismantling the expressway east of Jarvis Street altogether.

In conjunction with the planning agency Waterfront Toronto, the city had initiated an environmental assessment that was going to look into the effects of dismantling the expressway east of Jarvis Street altogether.

But that environmental assessment was "placed on hold in 2011," the staff briefing note says.

Staff now say it could take up to five years for that assessment to be completed. To keep the roadway operational for the next six years would require "$30 million to $35 million in timber bracing plus several millions of dollars in deck patching and parapet wall repair/replacement," said the staff report.

Toronto Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong says the city has not spent enough to maintain the Gardiner Expressway.

In an appearance on Metro Morning Wednesday, Minnan-Wong, who chairs the city’s public works committee, said the staff briefing notes that the highway is on the verge of becoming unsafe illustrate the importance of a new proposal to spend an extra $505 million in capital funds to maintain it over the next 10 years.

"Council has previously decided only to do emergency repairs and I think we’re seeing the results of that decision in that we haven’t been spending enough on preventative maintenance," he told host Matt Galloway.

"We’re in the spot right now where there are more pieces falling off the Gardiner expressway, there are more repairs that need to be done."

The Gardiner, which was completed in 1965, is a crucial artery into downtown Toronto, carrying more than 200,000 vehicles on a typical weekday. But recently concrete chunks have fallen off the elevated portion of the highway, raising new questions about its safety for drivers and pedestrians.

CBC News reported last week that tens of millions of dollars budgeted to repair the Gardiner were never spent. A study done in October found that the highway’s deteriorating concrete poses a significant safety hazard.

Minnan-Wong also responded to reports that point to a media strategy with talking points to assure the public the Gardiner was safe.

"I think we have to focus more on the facts and less on spin," he said. "I haven’t been completely satisfied with the transparency of the public service."

The proposed capital budget released last week calls for the city to spend an extra $505 million in capital funds to maintain the highway over the next 10 years.

If approved, that move would cut the capital repair backlog on the Gardiner in 10 years to $121.1 million from the current $626.4 million, representing a reduction of 81 per cent.

"We need to make those repairs now," said Minnan-Wong. "To make the Gardiner safe, we need to approve those capital funds."

The proposal needs the approval of council in order to be implemented.