Feasibility study for Doug Ford’s Highway 401 tunnel idea to cost $9.1 million
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TORONTO – Ontario taxpayers are set to spend $9.1 million to learn if or how it is feasible to build a tunnel under Highway 401.
The province issued a request for proposals for the study in the spring and a spokesperson for Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria says WSP Canada Inc. was recently awarded the contract.
Before a feasibility study was even started, Ontario Premier Doug Ford spoke often and in detail about his vision for a tunnel.
Ford laid out his plan for the tunnel to be 19.5 metres wide and three levels, with one level each for eastbound and westbound traffic and another for transit.
The premier has also urged Prime Minister Mark Carney to designate it as a nation building project, saying it is needed in order to reduce gridlock and boost economic productivity.
Critics have called the idea a vanity project or a fantasy.
Ford has previously said the feasibility study would look at how — not if — the tunnel could be built, but the request for proposals does contemplate the possibility of a tunnel not being possible.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.