New Transportation Projects In The GTA

Good news for those commuting in the Greater Toronto Area! Not only is Toronto investing in public transportation with the Air Rail Link To Toronto Pearson Airport but the great city is expanding its toll highway. A new 50/50 joint venture between SNC-Lavalin and Cintra Infrastructures has been awarded the contract to design, build, finance and maintain the first phase of a project to extend the Highway 407 toll highway.

This highway runs east-west across the Greater Toronto Area bringing many GTA workers into the cities core. The Highway 407 East phase 1 will stretch 22 kilometers from Brock Road in Pickering to Harmony Road in Oshawa. It also includes a 10-kilometer north-south connection from near Lake Ridge Road to Highway 401 and a connection to Highway 35. To design and build this new plan it is said to be a 3-1/2 year job. The extension is estimated to be open by the end of 2015.

The SNC-Lavalin-Cintra joint venture—known as 407 East Development Group General Partnership—will operate and maintain the highway for 30 years. However the province will maintain ownership and collect the tolls. The value of the contract is $1 billion.

Waterloo, a small city located 112 km from Toronto is also making transportation news. Parsons Brinckerhoff has been named as the general engineering consultant to the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario for a major new transit program in the region. The program includes a 19-kilometer light rail transit system and a 17-kilometer bus rapid transit network through the Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo area.

This project will successfully increase the use of public transit within the wellington region. Parsons Brinckerhoff will help the regional government prepare its criteria and performance requirements for a private partner that will design, build, finance and operate the LRT.