Don Valley Parkway

The DVP
Route of Heroes

Route information

Maintained by City of Toronto

Length:

15.0 km (9.3 mi)

History:

Proposed 1954
Opened August 31, 1961 –
November 17, 1966

Major junctions

North end:

Highway 401
(continues as

Highway 404)

Bloor Street East / Danforth Avenue
Eglinton Avenue East

South end:

Gardiner Expressway – Downtown Toronto

Location

Major cities:

Toronto

Highway system

Roads in Ontario

Ontario municipal expressways
← Gardiner Expressway (1955)	Don Valley Parkway (1961)	Allen Road (1964) →

Roads in Ontario

The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in the Canadian city of Toronto, Ontario, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway runs through the parklands of the Don River Valley, after which it is named. It has a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h (56 mph) for its entire length of 15.0 km (9.3 mi). It is six lanes for most of its length but it is eight lanes north of York Mills and four lanes south of Eastern. As a municipal road, it is patrolled by the Toronto Police Service.

The parkway was the second expressway to be built by Metropolitan Toronto (Metro). Planning began in 1954, the year of Metro's formation. The first section opened during 1961 and the entire route was completed by the end of 1966. South of Bloor Street, the expressway was constructed over existing roadways. North of Bloor Street, it was built on a new alignment through the valley, requiring the removal of several hills, diversion of the Don River and the clearing of woodland. North of Eglinton Avenue, the expressway follows the former Woodbine Avenue right-of-way north to Highway 401.

The parkway operates well beyond its intended capacity of 60,000 vehicles per day and is known for daily traffic jams; some sections carry an average of 100,000 vehicles a day. Planned as part of a larger expressway network within Toronto, it was one of the few expressways built before the public opposition which cancelled many of the others.

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Wikipedia