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Following the recent demolition of the Gardiner Expressway's Yonge-Bay-York off-ramps in Toronto's South Core, work is underway to construct a replacement ramp truncated to 215 metres that touches down sooner at Lower Simcoe Street. When we last checked in on the ongoing infrastructure enhancement several weeks ago, work had begun on forming the ramp's inclined section that will brings cars from the elevated expressway above down to the at-grade street network. While forming of the ramp has only advanced slightly since August, the furthest along section of concrete is now cured and soon to be extended to the east.
A construction schedule posted by the City to keep the public informed about the project and its associated traffic disruptions shows that construction of the ramp is behind schedule, with the timetable showing that work on its structure should have been completed in August. The installation of the ramp’s de-icing was anticipated to begin this month, though photos of the ramp captured last weekend show no structural in the steepest section where the de-icing system will be installed.
Work continues on the rest of the site on the widening of Harbour Street, the west end of which spent much of its early existence in the shadow of the now-demolished ramp. Over Labour Day weekend, a closure of the York and Harbour intersection allowed crews to advance work there, pouring a new concrete road base, and letting it cure for a few days before it could be accessed.
By the end of the closure on September 5th, new photos emerged showing freshly-laid asphalt for most of Harbour between Simcoe and Bay, with more work to be done to complete the intersection to York. Only the north-most two lanes of Harbour Street have been painted and are in public use so far.
Currently Harbour is eastbound only, but over time it will convert into two-way traffic from York Street easterly.
Between Simcoe and York, all four lanes of Harbour (two from eastbound Lake Shore, two from the eastbound Gardiner ramp) will be used for eastbound traffic. At York, the north-most lane will be left turn only for northbound traffic.
Between York and Bay, the north-most lane will be westbound, with a forced right turn at York, while the three other lanes will be eastbound. At Bay, the left-most eastbound lane will be a left turn only for northbound traffic.
Between Bay and Yonge, two lanes will eventually be westbound and two lanes will be eastbound, although this may not take effect until after Harbour Street has been extended further east to service redevelopments beyond Yonge Street.
We will keep you updated as the project progresses. In the meantime, you can see plenty of renderings of the completed project by checking out our database file, linked below. Want to share your thoughts? Leave a comment on this page, or add your voice to the ongoing conversation in our associated Forum thread.
