Key roadblock in Ontario's takeover of DVP and Gardiner Expressway could be cleared by end of year

Shawn Jeffords · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 13, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The last roadblock to Ontario's takeover of the Gardiner Expressway Parkway could beryllium cleared this twelvemonth arsenic the state and metropolis finalize a deal Toronto's politician says volition escaped up the city's finances to better support everything from its transit strategy to its parks.

A owed diligence reappraisal by the state up of the upload, including an appraisal of the highways, a fiscal and ineligible review, and different method enactment is the past remaining hurdle for the province's takeover of the 2 highways. A spokesperson for Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria says the state is hopeful the survey volition beryllium completed aboriginal this year. 

"The results of the (review) volition assistance pass aboriginal decisions astir each aspects of the upload, including timeframes," Dakota Brasier said successful a statement. "The Ministry volition request to measure the results erstwhile received."

The highways will become the spot of provincial taxpayers nether the woody reached betwixt Premier Doug Ford and Mayor Olivia Chow astir a twelvemonth and a fractional ago. Since then, teams of civilian servants person been astatine enactment connected the analyzable statement of handing implicit the 33 kilometres of joined roadworthy successful and retired of Toronto's core.

WATCH | More operation is coming to the Gardiner Expressway: 

Chow said this week she is optimistic the ceremonial enactment volition wrapper successful 2025, paving the mode for the afloat upload a abbreviated clip later.

"The speech betwixt the state and the metropolis connected the Gardiner upload is going precise well," she said. "That upload truly assists the City of Toronto."

Gardiner and DVP an '800-pound' gorilla, Ford says

In November 2023, erstwhile the statement was announced, Ford called the highways an "800-pound gorilla connected your back", recalling their interaction connected metropolis finances from his clip arsenic a Toronto councillor. 

"Let's marque it precise clear: it doesn't substance what the owed diligence comes backmost (with), we're taking attraction of the DVP and the Gardiner," helium said. 

Toronto has operated nether that presumption ever since, re-allocating $1.9 cardinal successful superior spending to code urgent repair needs elsewhere. During the city's caller fund debate, $500 cardinal was acceptable speech for TTC repairs and maintenance. Parks, Forestry and Recreation volition person $400 cardinal and Transportation Services volition person $350 million. 

Chow said the metropolis has been struggling for decades to support gait with its aging infrastructure. In 2017, the metropolis started a strategical rehabilitation of the Gardiner, estimated to outgo $1.7 billion. Toronto taxpayers person already spent $664 cardinal connected respective parts of the refurbishment plan, which is yet to beryllium completed. Last year, Ontario provided up to $73 cardinal to assistance accelerate portion of the refurbishment.

The vice-chair of the city's infrastructure committee, Deputy Mayor Mike Colle, called the archetypal download of the highways by the Harris authorities successful the 1990s a atrocious determination that has wounded the metropolis for decades.

"It's been similar dilatory poison each twelvemonth due to the fact that these costs person truly taken distant our quality to instrumentality attraction of our basal sewers and our h2o system, our hydro system," helium said.

Chow described enactment to code the superior fund each twelvemonth arsenic a hamster moving connected a wheel, mostly due to the fact that of the disbursal of the Gardiner.

"It costs truthful overmuch wealth and you conscionable don't person enough. So portion you're engaged trying to hole the Gardiner, everything other is falling apart," she said.

Toronto's wide manager of proscription services, Barbara Gray, said this week that the enactment to manus implicit the highways to the state is inactive underway, but giving up highways similar the Gardiner and DVP does travel with complications.

"I deliberation anytime you person large infrastructure similar that that is truthful good used, the attraction and operational costs are ever sizeable astatine the aforesaid time, there's ever immoderate worth successful having immoderate power implicit that. And truthful that's wherefore it's truthful important that we person these conversations and robust retired each of those pieces," she said.

Coun. Anthony Perruzza said helium was the lone ballot connected metropolis assembly against the upload and worries astir losing power of the highways.

"The state is astatine the array present arsenic the owners, truthful fundamentally with immoderate licence oregon immoderate permission, you present person to spell to them and say, 'Hey, listen, we privation to bash this,'" helium said.

"I don't deliberation that that was a winning woody for the City of Toronto going forward. Absolutely not."

Few gross options if tolling is disconnected the table: experts

Matti Siemiatycki, a prof of geography and planning at the University of Toronto, said astatine this infinitesimal it's hard to ideate the metropolis regretting the upload, but the state could person "buyer's remorse" due to the fact that of the outgo to support the elevated information of the Gardiner.

Highways tin beryllium an plus erstwhile cities tin toll them, but bids to bash that person been spiked by the province, helium said.

"If idiosyncratic tin fig retired however to marque wealth disconnected of the Gardiner and the DVP without charging tolls, that volition beryllium a existent feat, due to the fact that that's been what's astatine play," helium said. "There is simply a mode that you could make revenue. It is done tolls."

Murtaza Haider, the manager of Toronto Metropolitan University's Urban Analytics Institute, said the upload makes consciousness for a assortment of reasons but it volition instrumentality clip to get it done correctly. The state simply has the road attraction acquisition and overmuch greater borrowing capableness to concern the costly work, helium said.

"I deliberation the state carries much musculus to get a amended woody retired of contractors and a amended woody retired of scheduling and getting things done faster than the city," helium said. 

The highways should person ever been seen arsenic arteries of provincial importance, helium added. His anticipation is that the modulation volition beryllium a seamless 1 that doesn't inconvenience drivers.

"It shouldn't effect successful a drastic change," helium said.