Premier Dalton McGuinty formally announced plans on Thursday to build "the people's highway" northeast of Toronto.
The premier said the province has finalized a $1-billion contract to extend the Highway 407 toll road 22 kilometres east from Brock Road in Pickering to Harmony Road in Oshawa. The fixed-price contract also includes construction of a 10-kilometre connection to Highway 401.
"The 407 east extension will be the peoples' highway. The people of Ontario will own this highway," the premier said during a news conference in Woodbridge, Ont. "We will be setting the tolls…and the people of Ontario will benefit from the tolls that are derived from this highway.
The project is expected to take about 3.5 years to complete, after which the partnership will maintain the highway for 30 years.
The 407 East Development Group General Partnership, a 50/50 joint venture between SNC-Lavalin and Cintra Infraestructuras, will design, build, finance and maintain Phase 1 of the new Highway 407 East.
Unlike the current agreement, the province will fix the toll fees on the new stretch of highway and be collected by the government.
Spanish-based Ferrovial is a 43.23 per cent partner in the 407 highway concession, while the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board owns 40 per cent and SNC-Lavalin 16.77 per cent.
The second phase of the 65-kilometre extension will take the world's biggest toll road to Clarington, Ont.
