Crumbling Concrete

Lori Paris (CFRB News) - A chunk of concrete fell from the Gardiner Expressway onto the Lakeshore Saturday night, narrowly missing passing cars.

The piece, which police say was a little bigger than a basketball, didn't hit any vehicles. However a smaller piece broke off when it struck the ground and hit a passing car, but didn't cause any injuries or serious damage to the car.

Another reminder of just how old Toronto's "Mistake by the Lake" really is. But in the wake of last October's fatal overpass collapse in Laval, is the crumbling concrete simply a sign of wear and tear, or should you take another route to work?

Toronto's Transportation Services says Toronto's roadways are inspected on an almost daily basis, and the Gardner is structurally sound.

Adam Giambrone, vice chair of the Public Works and infrastructure committee says the city is doing all they can to repair the Gardner, but pieces are still going to fall off several times a year

"Things happen, unfortunately. Pieces will fall off from time to time until we get the Gardner fully repaired.  But that's no consolation if you're under the bridge when that happens.  But it does have to be put in the perspective of the general safety of our roads, and they are safe."

Giambrone says the city will be spending 10 to 15 million dollars on repair work to the Gardner. But given the fact the Gardner is more then 40 years old, he adds it's really only a band-aid solution to the problem.