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yesterday

Ontario Advances Three-Level 401 Tunnel Plan and Explores Truck Toll Subsidies on 407

Premier Doug Ford is proceeding with an unawarded feasibility RFP for a three-level Highway 401 tunnel despite past internal warnings of collapse risk.

Westbound traffic is seen on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford talks to workers as he visits the starting site of the Metrolinx subway extension project in Scarborough, Ont., on April 29, 2022.
Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford speaks from the podium during a visit to Walker Construction in St. Catharines, Ont. on Friday, January 31, 2025.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to the media during the meetings of Canada’s premiers in Huntsville, Ont., on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Overview

  • The government has issued a spring RFP for a 19.5-metre-wide, three-level tunnel under Highway 401 but has yet to award the feasibility study contract.
  • Doug Ford has dismissed a 2021 internal analysis that flagged “risks to public safety” and potential roadway collapse as outdated, insisting the tunnel can be built safely.
  • Planned tunnel dimensions include upper levels for eastbound and westbound traffic and a lower deck reserved for rapid transit.
  • Opposition leaders and experts such as Matti Siemiatycki have demanded the release of shelved studies and urged investment in proven transit and congestion-management measures instead of a massive tunnel.
  • Newly obtained documents show officials directed staff to examine subsidizing commercial truck tolls on Highway 407 as a complementary strategy to divert traffic and alleviate gridlock.