Ontario government to remove tolls on two Durham Region highways

The Ford government has announced that it will be permanently removing the tolls from two Durham Region highways as of April.

Highways 412 and 418 are currently the only provincially-owned north-south highways that are tolled.

But during a press conference on Friday afternoon, Premier Doug Ford announced that the tolls are being eliminated for both highways as of April 5, calling it a "great day for Durham Region."

The move comes on the heels of a number of Durham Region mayors writing a letter to the province in December, urging it to scrap the tolls.

"You look over to the 418, there's nobody on it, roads were built for people to use and we have traffic issues getting people to work effectively, efficiently and moving goods," Durham Regional Chair John Henry said in the letter.

Highways 412 and 418 were built under the previous Liberal government as part of the Highway 407 east extension.

The highways are both approximately nine kilometres long and link Highway 401 with Highway 407, in the vicinity of Whitby.

During peak periods, drivers utilizing the highways pay tolls ranging from 29.87 cents per kilometer to 88.59 cents per kilometer, depending on their vehicle size.

The Ontario government had previously frozen the tolls on both highways through May, 2023 and had indicated that it would be reviewing tolling options on the roadways.