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Should Doug Ford buy the 407 instead of digging a tunnel to ease gridlock?
Ontario’s party leaders say it would be far cheaper to buy back the private toll road than tunnel under the 401. But does that make it a wiser choice?
Premier Doug Ford’s political opponents say a more prudent means for the province to relieve congestion on the 401 is to buy back the underused 407.
Leaders of the three other major political parties in Ontario agree it would be far cheaper, quicker and simpler to purchase the private toll road than what Ford proposed — digging what could be the world’s largest tunnel beneath the world’s busiest highway.
While the 18-lane behemoth that is the 401 is perpetually packed, the 407, which runs parallel to it, resorted to a promotional campaign earlier this year to entice drivers to take it.
Despite this, the Ford administration never considered buying the 407 before announcing the 401 tunnel proposal, a senior government source at Queen’s Park told the Star.
The reason being that if population growth trends in Ontario hold, all of the 400-series highways in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area will hit or exceed capacity within the decade, according to the province’s traffic modelling.
“The 407 will be at or over capacity in 10 years anyway,” said the source, speaking privately on background to discuss internal deliberations.
