Part II: Looking Forward 2007 to 2011
Federal / Provincial Transportation Action Plan for the Greater Toronto Area (FLOW)
In March 2007, the federal government announced up to $962 million in partnership with the Province of Ontario and five municipalities to generate a combined investment of close to $4.5 billion in public transit and highway infrastructure projects in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
The FLOW initiative is a new long-term transportation action plan for the GTA. FLOW is designed to reduce gridlock, improve the environment and increase economic growth in one of the fastest growing areas in Canada.
As part of the FLOW initiative, the Province of Ontario has agreed to invest in three key highway projects: Highway 7 widening, Highway 404 north extension and Highway 407 east extension.
Widening of Highway 7 in Durham Region: Highway 7 will be widened from Brock Road to Highway 12 in the Regional Municipality of Durham. The project will help alleviate traffic congestion in a rapidly growing area of GTA and will improve links to Highway 407. Construction is set to begin in 2009 and expected to be completed by 2012.
Extension of Highway 404: This project involves the extension of Highway 404 north from Green Lane to Ravenshoe Road. This extension will help reduce travel times, support economic development and help take long-distance commuter and recreational traffic off local roads in the Regional Municipality of York. The first phase of construction, building a new bridge over Green Lane, will begin in 2007 while the remainder of the extension is expected to be completed by 2012.
Extension of Highway 407 east to Highway 35/115: Highway 407 will be extended eastwards by 67 km from Brock Road in Pickering to Highway 35/115 in Clarington and will include two north-south connections to Highway 401; one from Ajax/Whitby, and one from Oshawa/Clarington. A provision for a future dedicated transit right-of-way is also included. The Province of Ontario will determine the appropriate financing and delivery for this project. The project is currently targeted for completion by 2013.
