Phase 1 of Highway 407 East in Toronto has today opened to traffic. The official opening by Steven Del Duca, Ontario Minister of Transportation, Jose Angel Tamariz, CEO and Chairman of the 407 East Development Group – a consortium comprised by Cintra and SNC Lavalin –, and Alejandro de la Joya, CEO of Ferrovial Agroman, took place last Friday.
The opening marks the culmination of three years of construction works which began in the spring of 2013. The consortium led by Cintra was selected in 2012 to design, build, finance and maintain Highway 407 East Phase I, with a contract worth 1 billion Canadian dollars.
Phase 1 comprises a 20 km extension east to Harmony Road in Whitby / Oshawa. It also includes a 10 km link to Highway 401 and 5 km of realignment of Highway 401. A total of 70 structures and 148 km of new lanes have been constructed, including 10 new interchanges. The concession period for this new infrastructure is 30 years from start of operation.
The project has required a total of over 3.2 million person hours, with training on safety and environmental protection a priority for the construction consortium made up by Ferrovial Agroman and SNC Lavalin. Moreover, work had to be carefully planned to avoid impact on bird migration and the nesting season in the months of May and June, and to take into account other environmental restrictions.
