City of Toronto suing consultant for Gardiner work it claims caused 8 months of delays

Lane Harrison · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 05, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The City of Toronto says plan errors caused enactment connected the Gardiner Expressway to beryllium delayed by much than 8 months successful 2021. In a precocious filed lawsuit, it's present seeking tens of millions of dollars from the multi-national consulting steadfast it alleges made the mistakes. 

The city's wide authorities committee volition sermon the ongoing litigation Monday, which is related to rehabilitation enactment done to a agelong of the road from Jarvis Street to Cherry Street. Though what they're discussing — listed simply arsenic "instructions for staff" successful the docket — is confidential until assembly votes to marque it public. 

However, a connection of assertion filed by the metropolis successful February lays retired respective examples of fixes that needed to beryllium made aft the alleged errors by WSP Canada Inc. were discovered. Those changes led to the metropolis paying its contractor for much costly accelerated work, successful an effort to mitigate WSP's alleged plan errors, the papers says. 

The metropolis is looking for astatine slightest $36 cardinal from the steadfast done the suit filed astatine Ontario's Superior Court of Justice. 

The claims successful the suit person not been tested successful court. WSP is an engineering, advisory and science-based consulting steadfast founded successful Quebec that present has offices astir the world. 

The steadfast did not respond to a petition for remark connected the lawsuit. A announcement to support the suit has been filed connected the company's behalf by a Toronto-based operation lawyer, who did not respond to a petition for comment.

"The metropolis has suffered important further costs caused by WSP's plan errors," reads the connection of assertion filed connected Feb. 28. "Despite requests from the city, WSP has failed to oregon refused to compensate the city."

Because of WSP's alleged plan errors, the suit says Toronto had to marque payments to its contractor that it different wouldn't have. Costs incurred some to resoluteness the alleged errors and trim the delay, the city's connection of assertion says.

"[The connection of claim] presents lone the City of Toronto's perspective, but the measurement and the severity of those alleged plan [issues] ... they are concerning," said Lamya Amleh, a prof of civilian engineering astatine Toronto Metropolitan University who was not progressive successful the project.

Amleh reviewed the plan deficiencies described successful the connection of assertion for CBC Toronto. She says the metropolis is accusing WSP of "conflicting drawings and structural plan oversights."

She said it's important to retrieve WSP's effect isn't yet public, and determination whitethorn beryllium accusation that changes the picture.

Adjusting designs connected a immense infrastructure task is normal, she said, but what the metropolis is alleging would person been much than that.

"That level of disruption isn't typical," she said. 

City alleges tempest h2o absorption was overlooked successful design

The suit adds different section to the communicative of hostility betwixt Toronto residents, GTA drivers and operation connected the aging road that rumbles adjacent to Lake Ontario. In 2020, CBC Toronto reported that galore residents were losing slumber owed to noisy overnight rehabilitation enactment connected the highway. 

In the lawsuit's tribunal documents, the metropolis says it had to summation "nighttime moving windows" with "prolonged time and nighttime shifts" to accelerate the work. 

In 1 instance, the metropolis alleges WSP's plan had to beryllium revised due to the fact that it "failed to relationship for stormwater management." 

An oversight that, if true, Amleh said would beryllium "extremely problematic" particularly considering the dense rainfall the metropolis volition apt proceed to acquisition owed to the impacts of clime change.

WATCH | New batch of Gardiner enactment starting adjacent week: 

That alleged mistake is 1 Tamer El-Diraby, a civilian engineering prof astatine the University of Toronto, said helium wouldn't expect a planetary steadfast similar WSP to make. 

But similar Almeh, helium said it's important to retrieve the communicative of the issues truthful acold has travel lone from the city. 

"You request to spot WSP's constituent of view," helium said. 

"I'm definite determination is much documentation down this," El-Diraby said. "It volition instrumentality months if not years to spell done this by lawyers and the judge."

Construction issues usually resolved earlier suit stage: expert

El-Diraby said helium was amazed to larn of the lawsuit.

Usually, helium said, task owners and the consultants oregon contractors would find alternate ways to resoluteness a dispute. That could mean bringing successful different advisor oregon an autarkic contractor.

"In uncommon cases, they spell to law," helium said. 

If the quality was implicit a mates cardinal dollars, the metropolis whitethorn not person chosen this path, helium said. 

But the metropolis says it spent $33.2 cardinal successful accrued payments to the contractor owed to plan issues, without factoring successful taxes. That sum includes astir $20 cardinal to accelerate the completion of the task and astir $10 cardinal successful seasonal expenses brought connected by wintertime work.

Plus, the metropolis estimates it mislaid astir $3 cardinal successful other costs truthful metropolis unit could oversee the work, payments to outer consultants and lawyers, arsenic good arsenic the wide nonaccomplishment to the metropolis of having the Gardiner partially closed longer than expected. 

While the operation elaborate successful the suit has been completed, a caller batch of rehabilitation enactment is coming to the Gardiner adjacent week, starring to a year-long lane closure connected its occidental end.