Southbound section of DVP to close to traffic tonight, next phase of King construction to begin

Toronto is closing a portion of the Don Valley Parkway to southbound traffic Thursday night in order to remove a damaged variable messaging sign.

The “unplanned” work is expected to start at 10 p.m. and run until 5:30 a.m. on Friday.

All southbound lanes will be closed on the DVP between Don Mills and the Bayview/Bloor ramp. Traffic will be redirected at the southbound off-ramp to southbound Don Mills Road.

Northbound traffic will also be reduced to a single lane from Pottery Road to Beechwood Drive and motorists should expect significant delays.

The city also announced the next phase of work along King Street from Dufferin to Shaw Streets. Traffic is already reduced to one lane over the stretch and streetcars have been diverted onto Queen.

The next phase of work will include the the closure of westbound lanes from April 22 to April 28 between Dufferin Street and Joe Shuster Way. One eastbound lane will remain open.

The City says due to supply chain issues, the project no longer includes a full closure of the intersection of King and Dufferin, which has been postponed until next year.

“The City was unable to obtain the specialized material required to replace the TTC streetcar track at the intersection of King Street and Dufferin Street,” it said in a release.

“As a result, this part of the project will be deferred from the 2024 schedule and incorporated into the 2025 King Street West project, stretching from Close Avenue to Dufferin Street.

Currently, the Gardiner Expressway has been reduced to two lanes in each direction between Dufferin and Strachan with intermittent additional lane closures as required until mid-2027.

It’s part of a massive rehabilitation of the aging expressway and is already causing commuters lots of traffic pain.

Last year, the Ford government and the City reached a deal to have the province upload the costs of the Gardiner and the Don Valley Parkway, which would free the city from budgeting for the maintenance of the two major roadways.