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TORONTO \u2014 Ontario taxpayers are set to spend $9.1 million to learn if or how it is feasible to build a tunnel under Highway 401.<\/p>\n
The province issued a request for proposals for the study in the spring and a spokesperson for Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said Thursday that WSP Canada Inc. was recently awarded the contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur government is making significant progress on the transformational project to build a tunnel under Highway 401 that will get people and goods moving across the province faster,\u201d Dakota Brasier wrote.<\/p>\n
Before the feasibility study was even started, Ontario Premier Doug Ford spoke often and in detail about his vision for a tunnel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ford laid out his plan for the tunnel to be 19.5 metres wide and three levels, with one level each for eastbound and westbound traffic and another for transit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re building that tunnel as sure as I\u2019m talking to you, and we\u2019re going to continue (to) reach out to experts around the world,\u201d he said in August.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they can tunnel under the English Channel, if they can tunnel through mountains and every other place, we sure the heck can tunnel along the 401. We\u2019ll do it safely, and we\u2019ll do it properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The premier has also urged Prime Minister Mark Carney to designate it as a nation building project, saying it is needed in order to reduce gridlock and boost economic productivity.<\/p>\n
Critics have called the idea a vanity project or a fantasy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how they sleep at night,\u201d NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Thursday. \u201cI\u2019ll just say it\u2026I think very few people really believe this is a real thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford has previously said the feasibility study would look at how \u2014 not if \u2014 the tunnel could be built, but the request for proposals does contemplate the possibility of a tunnel not being possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The RFP sought a study to determine the feasibility of a tunnel and several other options including an elevated highway, adding more lanes and having truck-only lanes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf no capacity expansion option is determined to be feasible, then congestion mitigation options are to be identified as alternative to expansion,\u201d the request told prospective proponents.<\/p>\n
\u00a92025 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n