A combination of a closed Don Valley Parkway, an unexpected, afternoon closure of the Gardiner Expressway and an accident on the QEW, made traffic a mess in Toronto on Saturday afternoon.
The city started a planned closure of the DVP at 2 a.m. on Saturday morning, in order to undertake needed maintenance activities that will last throughout the weekend.
That caused higher-than-average traffic volumes on other major arteries throughout the city.
To make traffic matters worse, a police investigation closed the Gardiner unexpectedly in the afternoon for several hours, backing up traffic in a big way.
That was compounded by a collision on the eastbound QEW, which injured an OPP police officer on a motorcycle around 1:15 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
As a result, the eastbound QEW remained closed for much of the afternoon as police investigated the collision scene and diverted eastbound traffic at Evans Avenue.
By the early evening, two of the three eastbound QEW lanes had been reopened and the Gardiner had been active for several hours. Best of all, traffic was beginning to flow smoothly once again.
Because the DVP will not reopen until Monday morning at 5 a.m., motorists should be warned that it will take much longer to get where they want to go for the remainder of the weekend.
The city recommends using Victoria Park Avenue, Don Mills Road, Bayview Avenue and Kingston Road, as alternative routes during the DVP closure.
Public transit is also a recommended alternative.