Doug Ford still wants a tunnel under the 401, but won’t say what it would cost
Previous estimates have projected $130 billion
Doug Ford remains committed to digging a tunnel under Highway 401 in Toronto—but his new budget doesn’t say how much it will cost.
Ford has been talking about excavating a three-level, 55-kilometre tunnel beneath the freeway for some time now, despite experts and civil servants arguing it could be dangerous, ineffective and wildly expensive. In the new 2026 Ontario budget, however, the government doubles down on the proposal, calling it an “innovative” idea for tackling congestion, and says preliminary work would begin this spring.
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The province studied this idea back in 2021, and a feasibility study from that time found the tunnel could cause “risks to public safety… such as potential for roadway collapse.” Perhaps because that’s horrifying, the report was never released to the public, and only came to light last year thanks to a freedom of information request by Global News.
Apparently needing a feasibility study that actually supported their plans, the province commissioned another one last year at the cost of $9 million. That study is now underway, and the province says field work for it will begin this spring. In other words, the tunnel has already cost us, whether or not it ever gets built.
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Another number that isn’t in the budget: the tunnel’s estimated $130-billion price tag, according to an independent expert who spoke with the CBC last year. To put that into perspective, the province’s budget for highways, hospitals and all other capital projects for the next 10 years is $210 billion. The tunnel alone—a single transportation project—would increase that by over half.
In the budget, the government says this new report will analyze the project’s “economic benefits” and “impact on reducing congestion.” It doesn’t say if it will investigate the potential downsides—like, say, the new traffic caused by construction taking up lanes, or the economic losses from disturbing such a vital corridor.
All of which is to say, the whole thing is still clear as mud, and yet Ford just keeps on digging. Like it or not, we’re all going into this hole together. Let’s hope it doesn’t collapse on us.
Anthony Milton is a freelance journalist based in Toronto specializing in long-form magazine writing. He previously worked as an assistant editor at Toronto Life, where he launched the Front Row newsletter. He regularly contributes all sorts of stories to the magazine, including deep dives on sports, business and housing as well as short-form commentary on our ever-changing city, from its obsession with cherry blossoms to its maddening NIMBYism. His work has also appeared in Maclean’s, Ricochet, TVO, the Trillium and more.
