Ford asks Carney to prioritize ’nation-building’ Hwy. 401 tunnel

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford is seeking Prime Minister Mark Carney’s support for his idea to build a tunnel under Hwy. 401.

Ford sent the prime minister a letter Monday setting out a series of Ontario priorities that he hopes Carney will address, including accessing critical minerals, building an electric-vehicle supply chain and enacting bail reforms.

At a meeting in March with the premiers, Carney asked them to identify “nation-building projects.” Ford’s letter sets out his list of areas he wants the federal government to prioritize “that would be transformational for Canada’s economy.”

Those include Ring of Fire critical mineral deposits in northern Ontario, both large-scale nuclear energy generation and small modular reactors, GO passenger train service and a new James Bay deep-sea port.

But the “nation-building” project drawing the most attention is a driver and transit tunnel expressway under the 401.

“(It would) significantly ease congestion on the busiest highway in North America, helping to improve our economic competitiveness by getting goods and services to market sooner,” Ford wrote.

Carney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but provincial opposition party leaders scoffed.

“Oh my goodness,” NDP Leader Marit Stiles said. “Honestly, this is outrageous and ridiculous. At this time when workers in Windsor, in Oshawa, across this province, their jobs are being cut, they are losing their jobs right now, Doug Ford is prioritizing his fantasy tunnel.”

Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said she isn’t sure that the tunnel would be on Carney’s list of priorities.

“The reality is, the cost of that tunnel could bankrupt this province,” she said. “It’s a 40-year project, frankly, that will not address traffic gridlock or congestion today. And quite frankly, when you think about it, by the time that tunnel is complete, who knows if we’re even driving vehicles or there will be alternative methods.”

The Ford government is seeking proposals for a feasibility study for the tunnel, but the premier has pledged to get it built no matter what. The request for proposals asks for the study to determine the feasibility of a tunnel and several other options including an elevated highway, adding more lanes and truck-only lanes.

The request says the study should assess the tunnel on a long-term horizon, specifying the year 2051.

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As part of the feasibility study, the province is also seeking a review of best practices from similar projects, including a proposed four-lane traffic tunnel in downtown Ottawa that never moved forward.

That feasibility study cost $750,000 and found that a 3.4-km tunnel across downtown Ottawa would cost upwards of $2 billion in 2016 dollars. That tunnel has not been built.

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria dismissed the naysayers.

“Seven years ago, when we released our plan on $70 billion for public transit, the subway lines across the province, I think a lot of people doubted that we could get shovels in the ground,” he said.

“We’ve got shovels in the ground on those and look, it’s time to build. The cost of not building is far greater. We have to look at the 401, as one of the most congested places … in North America, and we need solutions for the future.”