The Ontario government has issued a request for proposals for companies to design an extension of Highway 410 that will connect to the future Highway 413.

The province is seeking proposals to design a 9.1-kilometre extension from Highway 410 at Countryside Drive north to Highway 413, and from Highway 413 west to Highway 10.

The extension will give drivers a direct link between the two highways, cutting travel times and relieving gridlock on local roads. Once complete, Highway 413 will extend from Highway 400 in the east to the Highway 401/407 interchange in the west.

The extension of Highway 410 is one of several projects underway as work begins on the new Highway 413 corridor. In August, Ontario awarded the first two construction contracts to build Highway 413. In addition, the province recently completed upgrades to the Highway 401/407 interchange, the western terminus of Highway 413.

Extending Highway 410 to connect with the future Highway 413 is part of the province’s more than $220 billion infrastructure construction plan. That spending includes $30 billion in investments to build and upgrade roads, highways and bridges, including Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass, the twinning of the Garden City Skyway and widening of major highways such as Highway 401 and the QEW.

The province has also made refinements to the Northwest GTA Transmission Corridor and will release lands that are no longer required for future transmission infrastructure. The transmission corridor is being co-located with Highway 413.

“Our government is making historic investments in highway infrastructure to get drivers in the GTA and Ontario out of gridlock,” said Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation.

The government anticipates the construction of Highway 413 will support more than 6,000 jobs per year and contribute more than $1 billion to Ontario’s annual gross domestic product.