The Ontario government explored the idea of tunneling beneath Highway 401 to ease traffic congestion but halted the undisclosed project in 2021, well before Premier Doug Ford proposed the initiative in 2024. This information is detailed in documents acquired by CBC News via a freedom of information request. The briefings, dated Feb. 19, 2025, outline the background of the contentious plan that Ford introduced publicly last year.
Civil servants mentioned in the briefing note that the initiative was put on hold in late 2021 as per government directives. The planning study was not publicized, and no further progress was made on the project. Ford’s vision involves constructing a tunnel connecting Mississauga to Scarborough. The government initiated the process in April to find a company to conduct a new feasibility study on tunneling or constructing an elevated expressway over the existing highway, with the study anticipated to conclude in 2027.
However, the documents reveal that the government had previously conducted its own analysis and discreetly abandoned the comprehensive work five years ago. The planning study remains unreleased, and the reason for its discontinuation remains unclear. According to the documents, the study assessed various options, including assumptions, findings, costs, and technical design considerations.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Ontario collaborated with an external engineering consultant to conduct a “high-level analysis” on three tunnel concepts and two elevated roadway concepts, prompted by multiple unsolicited proposals received from companies between 2019 and 2021. These proposals were related to constructing a tunnel under Highway 401 to alleviate congestion.
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie urged the government to disclose all reports regarding the tunnel project for transparency and evaluation. NDP transportation and infrastructure critic Jennifer French emphasized the necessity for transparency on the tunnel’s cost and feasibility. Matti Siemiatycki, the director of the University of Toronto’s Infrastructure Institute, stressed the importance of releasing as much feasibility work as possible to assess the viability of the project.