Ontarians doubtful about Hwy. 401 tunnel: Survey

Traffic is seen on 401 Highway in Toronto on Wednesday, January 3, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

A proposal championed by Premier Doug Ford to build a traffic and transit tunnel under Hwy. 401 to relieve congestion is being met with skepticism by Ontario voters, a new poll suggests.

According to the poll, released Friday by Liaison Strategies, some 45 per cent of Ontarians are opposed to the project, while just 28 per cent support it. About 17 per cent said they didn’t support or oppose the project, while 10 per cent said they weren’t sure.

The survey showed respondents have concerns around transparency, safety, and the opportunity cost of pouring billions of dollars into the tunnel instead of spending it on areas like health care, education and housing.

Still, some 74 per cent of respondents said that the tunnel would likely reduce traffic congestion in the GTA if it were built.

Ford has previously proposed a three-level tunnel, one level for traffic in each direction and a third for transit. He has said the project would stretch roughly 50 kilometres from Mississauga to Scarborough.

The premier has said the tunnel is needed to help relieve congestion in the GTA, especially as 400-series highways get busier in the coming years.

But the province has released little data to support the plan or to show that it’s feasible or cost-effective to tunnel under one of the busiest and most congested stretches of highway in North America.

Reports have suggested the province previously rejected the Hwy. 401 tunnel idea in 2021 over safety and construction challenges, but those internal documents have not been made public.

In November, the Ford government awarded a $9.1 million contract to WSP Canada Inc. to conduct a feasibility study for the tunnel idea, examining how it could be built. That study is expected to be completed in 2027.

Ford has touted the tunnel as a “nation-building project” and pushed for federal commitments to help build it, but the tunnel was left out of the federal government’s recently unveiled list of major infrastructure projects.

Opposition Leader Marit Stiles has called the tunnel “an ego project” for the premier.

Just six per cent of respondents to the survey said the Hwy. 401 tunnel should be the top transit priority for the GTA, while 39 per cent would prefer to see the province improve local roads and intersections an widen or improve existing highways. Around 33 per cent say the top priority should be improving public transit.

While voters might have doubts about Ford’s tunnel plan, the survey indicates his party still enjoys a comfortable margin of support with voters.

Roughly nine months after the PC Party won a third term, 44 per cent of those surveyed said they would vote for the PC’s if an election were held today. That compares to 35 per cent who said they would vote for the Ontario Liberal Party and 16 per cent who said they would vote NDP.

The poll, conducted Dec. 5-7 using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology, surveyed 1,000 Ontarians. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.09 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Ford’s office did not immediately return a request for comment on the survey.