The Ontario government’s announcement to move forward with building Highway 413 is welcomed the Ontario Trucking Association, which looks forward to the project, which will provide a major boost to the provincial economy and bring relief to some of the most congested traffic arteries in North America.
Stephen Laskowski, president of the Ontario Trucking Association and James Steed, president of Steed Standard Transport and OTA Chair, were on hand for today’s announcement made by Premier Doug Ford and members of cabinet including the Hon. David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and the Hon. Vijay Thanigasalam, Associate Minister of Transportation.
In his address, Premier Ford thanked OTA and the trucking industry for its ongoing support and for championing those who will be involved in the construction of the new highway.
“The 413 highway will be a game changer. It will play a critical role in the province’s plan for economic growth, and job creation for the next 50 to 100 years,” says Laskowski. “It will also allow the transportation and logistics hubs in the Northwestern GTA that serve as the epicentre of Canada’s supply chain to flourish and be free from the cloud of congestion that has been choking economic potential.”
Extending from Highway 400 in the east to the Highway 401 in the west, the four-to-six-lane highway, will include dedicated infrastructure for trucking and intelligent transportation and truck parking, while supporting up to 3,500 jobs each year and generate up to $350 million in annual real gross domestic product (GDP).
By providing congestion relief for Highway 401 and adding redundancy to the GTA’s 400-series network, the new highway will significantly improve transit times for goods movement to and from central and northern Ontario (and by extension Western Canada) while strengthening the connection for Canada’s busiest truck-rail intermodal facilities in Brampton and Vaughn and providing choice and redundancy in connecting the GTA to southwestern Ontario and the key international border crossings to Michigan and the dozens of US states that are Ontario’s trading partners.
“Highway 413 is not only a fundamental piece of infrastructure, but also a key part of Ontario’s success for decades to come as it will increase investment to Ontario, including many regions currently being underserved,” says Laskowski.
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The province continues to make crucial and strategic investments in highways, roads and bridges, which improves road safety, commuting, supports job creation and, ultimately, helps the economy grow.
“The Ford government’s support for Ontario’s trucking industry has been unwavering. It’s hard to recall a government so in-tune with our industry, by routinely considering our sector’s needs and often responds to challenges with the right decisions at the right time to ensure the industry – the driving force of Ontario’s economy – remains efficient and successful.”
In 2022 the cost of congestion to the Ontario economy was estimated to be $11 billion. The American Transportation Research Institute in a 2023 report estimated that highway traffic congestion costs the trucking industry about $US7000 per year per truck in lost productivity and that 25.4 billion litres of diesel were needlessly used while trucks were stuck in traffic. In Ontario that idling figure would representing just over 800 million litres of diesel fuel being burned and causing emission sitting in traffic.
“The 413 is the only practical viable long-term solution for all road users, transportation companies and businesses that rely on the efficient movement of goods throughout the Ontario, Canada and international supply chain. Investments in highways reduce needless emissions and improve efficiency and confidence in the supply chain.”
“The time has come to build highway 413 and we look forward to getting the job done.”