TORONTO, Ont. – Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has given the official green light for an eastern extension of highway 407, with construction scheduled to start this fall.
The new 22-kilometre stretch, costing $1-billion, will go between Pickering and Oshawa and is set to be finished by the end of 2015.
Unlike the current 407, this new toll road will be publicly-owned, with the province setting the toll rates and keeping the toll revenue.
According to McGuinty, the tolls, which have not been set yet, will not be higher than the ones on the privately-owned stretch of the 407 ETR.
“The people of Ontario will own this highway,” McGuinty said. “The people of Ontario will be setting the tolls and setting the service standards. The people of Ontario will benefit from the tolls that are derived from this highway.”
It will extend from Brock Road in Pickering to Harmony Road in Oshawa. There will also be a north and south link up to Highway 401.
Drivers will receive only one bill and will only need one transponder to move from the current highway to the extension.
It is projected between 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles will use the extension per day.
Highway 407
Premier Dalton McGuinty studies a map of the 407 extension at a news conference at 407 ETR headquarters in Woodbridge, May 24, 2012
Premier Dalton McGuinty at a news conference at the at the 407 ETR Headquarters, May 24, 2012
Construction of 407 extension from Pickering to Oshawa starting this fall
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