TORONTO, Ont. – The Gardiner Expressway is closed this weekend for scheduled annual fall maintenance.

The expressway is scheduled to be shut down from Carlaw Avenue to the Humber River from 2 a.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday, although officials hope they will be able to re-open the roadway earlier.

Crews will clean catchbasins, paint pavement markings, clear litter and repair guard rails.

Miles Currie, with Toronto Transportation, says he knows the closure is problematic to some drivers, but adds that the work needs to be done.

“It’s really important to maintain the integrity of the structure, we carry over 120,000 vehicles per days, so it’s important for us to maintain the road,” Currie said.

Currie adds that there was careful consideration in picking this weekend for the closure.

“There’s never really a good weekend to close down a major expressway,” Currie said. “What we try to do is look at the major events, this weekend gives us some opportunity to get in and do repairs.”

The city encouraged drivers to use Lake Shore Boulevard, The Queensway, Richmond Street, Adelaide Street, King Street and Queen Street during the closure.

On Sunday, two lanes of Richmond Street, west of University Avenue will be closed for a movie shoot from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The city posts information about road closures on its website.

If it rains, the fall maintenance will be scheduled to take place the weekend of Sept. 22. Listen to 680News traffic for potential changes, or follow latest updates on Twitter.