There was lots of backlash when Toronto city council voted on the hybrid option to fix up the eastern portion of the Gardiner Expressway. According to a new staff report, however, the entire Gardiner project (including the work on the East Gardiner) will cost $1 billion more than expected.

The staff report, which will be presented to the executive committee next week, estimates the capital costs for the project have grown from $2.6 billion to $3.6 billion.

This higher-than-expected increase comes from a lack of federal and provincial funding. Construction on the Gardiner is expected to begin in 2019 and should be completed by 2026.

The proposed tolls on the Gardiner and the DVP, as the report suggests, could help offset the budget. According to CP24, this increase won't consume all of the potential toll revenue.

Photo by CJ Burnell via the blogTO Flickr pool.