The City of Toronto kicked off construction season on Monday with an announcement that they will invest more than $1 billion into infrastructure.
This is the largest investment the city has ever made in construction. The money will go towards work planned for roads, bridges, expressways, sewers, and watermains.
“Toronto’s infrastructure is used every day by millions of residents, businesses and visitors,” said Mayor John Tory. “These large investments made by the city guarantee that we keep adapting to the growth Toronto is experiencing and we keep improving our transportation and water infrastructure.”
The announcement is certainly good news for the city, but not so much for drivers. Construction is expected to take place on more than 600 roads in Toronto, which will naturally make travel times longer.
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This is quite significant considering driving is the most popular transportation method to get to work in Canada. Out of more than 1.86 million people who commute to work in Toronto by car, 11.1 per cent spend more than 60 minutes on the road, according to Statistics Canada.
Recognizing the inconvenience of the construction plans, the city said they will reduce disruption and traffic congestion by extending work hours on key projects. That means 63 projects will either be worked on overnight or 24/7.
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Following the morning announcement, Tory took to Twitter to “sympathize” with residents and frequent travellers. While he understood public concerns, he noted the construction was necessary for “building a better Toronto.”
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Approximately $590 million will be spent on improving transportation infrastructure. This includes roads, expressways, sidewalks, and cycling infrastructure. The remaining $480 million will go towards water infrastructure, which includes watermains, sewers, basement flooding protection, and storm water management projects.
Visit the City of Toronto website for a full breakdown of the construction investment plans.
