The Ontario government announced plans to explore whether tunnelling under a major highway, an idea Premier Doug Ford first mused about when he was a Toronto city councillor, is possible.
The government delivered the concept at a news conference near Highway 401 in Etobicoke on Wednesday morning, pledging to conduct a feasibility study of whether a new expressway could be tunnelled beneath the existing route.
“We’re experts at tunnelling,” Ford said. “And once a feasibility study comes back, then we’ll move it forward. I always believe, never take the tunnelling machines out of the ground — just keep tunnelling.”
Ford said he wanted to get a “clear understanding” of “how this tunnel” can fight gridlock, promising the potential project would not include road tolls. The premier called his tunnel project a “serious plan to get people out of gridlock,” accusing his opponents of shooting down his transportation plans.
Story continues below advertisement
While the feasibility study is about …