The Ford government is officially moving forward with a formal feasibility study for a tunnelled expressway below Highway 401, issuing a call for companies to investigate the viability of the plan.
On Monday afternoon, the government posted a request for proposals for companies to undertake a two-year feasibility study for a tunnelled highway route from Mississauga to just east of Scarborough.
The plan was first floated by Premier Doug Ford in September 2024, when he promised the uncosted mega project would help alleviate ever-worsening congestion on Highway 401.
At the time, Ford said the feasibility study would determine decisions like the final size and scope of the project, but that he planned to build it — whatever the research work concluded.
It has taken six months since that announcement to post the request for proposals for the feasibility study. Public documents suggest that the successful bidder will be expected to finish the study by the end of February 2027.
It is not clear how long the government would then take to digest the results of that study or work on planning the route itself. A timeline for construction or the overall budget has also not been decided.
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Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said posting the tunnelling feasibility contract was a major milestone.
“The release of the RFP for the 401 tunnel is a significant step forward in our government’s plan to fight gridlock and keep our roads moving,” he said in a statement.
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An internal document, previously seen by Global News, outlined some of the requirements and plans for the feasibility study.
In January, the Ford government was looking for:
- Analysis of a tunnelling option to add vehicle and transit capacity
- Consideration of other infrastructure options, including elevated highways and adjacent routing
- High-level cost estimates and economic analysis
- Design, environmental and construction considerations
The internal government presentation states that while there are “few opportunities to expand highway capacity without undertaking major tunnel or fly-over infrastructure options,” the feasibility study will also look at alternative routes and other modes of travel.
Firms are being asked to conduct a comprehensive assessment of “other vehicle and transit capacity options,” and to also identify other “complementary congestion relief options.”
Global News understands some changes were made to the plan for the feasibility plan between January and the RFP being posted on Monday.
While work will soon be underway on the feasibility study, the idea of a tunnel under Highway 401 was not new when it was unveiled last year.
For years, Canadian construction firm Aecon has been shopping the suggestion of a tunnel expressway to political leaders, Global News previously revealed.
First, in 2015, a tunnel from Highway 427 to the Don Valley Parkway was pitched to the city of Toronto, then the same idea was floated to the Ontario Liberal government. Later, in 2019, Aecon made a similar proposal to the Ford government as an unsolicited proposal with a price tag of around $50 to $60 billion.
The idea lay dormant for some time until it was officially unveiled and backed at the end of last summer.
The promise was part of the Progressive Conservatives’ pitch during the February snap election, in which they won a majority.
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