The Ontario government is putting the Bradford Bypass project into overdrive.
New design contracts have been awarded for the central and eastern sections of the highway link between Highways 400 and 404. WSP Canada Inc. and Stantec Consulting Ltd. have been selected to complete detailed design work, while Jacobs Consultancy Canada Inc. and Egis Canada Ltd. will oversee program management for the full project.
The bypass is planned as a 16.3-kilometre, four-lane highway, with the potential to expand to eight lanes in the future. Provincial officials estimate the new route could save commuters up to 35 minutes compared with using existing local roads.
At an announcement in Bradford West Gwillimbury on Nov. 28, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said the project will play a key role in easing congestion.
“The Bradford Bypass will cut gridlock, shorten commute times, strengthen east-west connections between Highways 400 and 404 and keep people and goods moving through one of the fastest growing parts of the Greater Golden Horseshoe,” he said.
Barrie-area MPPs Doug Downey and Andrea Khanjin welcomed the progress.
“The expansion of Ontario’s highway network will become a vital link for Simcoe County and help provide better connections to jobs and housing,” Downey said.
“By building this new corridor, our government is supporting local jobs, attracting new investment, and delivering the infrastructure families and businesses need to keep the region moving,” Khanjin said.
York–Simcoe MPP Caroline Mulroney said residents have been waiting for the project for decades.
“Our government’s mandate to protect Ontario includes delivering the Bradford Bypass, which residents across York-Simcoe have been asking governments to build for decades,” she said.
Work on the western section of the bypass is already underway. The province says construction of the full project will support more than 2,200 jobs per year with $286 million being contributed to Ontario’s GDP. Construction on the central and eastern sections could begin in 2026.
The provincial government first revived planning work for the bypass in 2019.
