Ontario Highway 407 - Future

Future

An environmental assessment (EA) to consider an extension of Highway 407 through Durham Region from its current Brock Road terminus in Pickering to Highway 35/115 in Clarington was undertaken. Also studied in the assessment are two north-south connecting highways between Highway 407 and Highway 401 to the south, one located in the general vicinity of western Whitby (West Durham Link) and the other near Courtice (East Durham Link).

A preferred route was announced in June 2007, and the EA was complete in June 2009.

On March 6, 2007, as part of the FLOW initiative, the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario confirmed the extension of the 407 to Highway 35/115 in Clarington, including the connector highways, with an announced completion date of 2013.

On January 27, 2009, the provincial government announced that the extension would be a tolled highway but owned by the province and with tolls set by the province. The announcement also indicated that the province expected to issue a Request for Proposals later in the year. The contract, which is valued at $1.6 billion, was eventually awarded to SNC-Lavalin and Cintra Infraestructuras SA.

On June 9, 2010, the ministry approved the extension, but it would only be going as far east as Simcoe Street in Oshawa for the time being, as they want the extensions to be built in phases. However, there were complaints on how it would impact traffic if the 407 ETR ended there. After a motion that was rejected by the Ontario Legislature on having the 407 ETR going to Highway 35/115, the government issued a compromise on March 10, 2011, where the first phase would end as far east as Harmony Road in Oshawa by 2015 and then beginning the second phase where it would extend towards Highway 35/115 by 2020. This timeline was confirmed by Premier Dalton McGuinty on May 24, 2012. Further, the extension section in the Durham Region will be publicly owned with the tolls going to the Ontario treasury.