When construction is complete on the new York-Bay-Yonge ramp, there will be technology embedded never used before in Toronto.
The ramp will have a de-icing system that will be automatically activated when the pavement reaches a certain temperature.
Because it will have a steeper slope than the average ramp, city staff wanted to ensure safety on cold and icy winter days.
After doing some research, Frank Clarizio, the city's director of design and construction, says they found technology that has been used elsewhere in North America.
"When the temperature a certain threshold, these systems would operate and spray de-icing brine solution across the pavement so ice would not form on the ramp," he says.
City of Toronto
The system was installed in 2000 on a ramp along Hwy 401, closer to Ottawa.
"Before the system was implemented there were a number of collisions," he says. "Once the system was implemented, those collisions went to zero."
Clarizio says the automatic spray is safer than sending brine trucks because it eliminates the lead time, but it's not something the city would want to install on every ramp due of the cost.
"It is a premium, the system has to be maintained on a regular basis."
He says it will cost about $150,000 a year to operate and maintain the system on the York-Bay-Yonge ramp. The installation is estimated to cost $2.3-million.
Clarizio adds that the project is currently on budget, estimated at $30-million, and on time. The ramp is expected to be open to traffic in late January.