Request for qualifications to be issued for Highway 407 East Extension
project

Extending the highway will help ease congestion and provide an economic boost in Durham Region

TORONTO, June 8 /CNW/ - Infrastructure Ontario is releasing a request for qualifications (RFQ) to pre-qualify and shortlist project teams to extend Highway 407 (eastward from Brock Road in Pickering to the Simcoe Street area in Oshawa) and to provide a new link. The West Durham Link, to be located east of Lakeridge Road, will connect Highway 407 East to Highway 401.

The design and construction of both the highway extension and the link will create and support thousands of direct and indirect jobs and help strengthen Durham Region's economy. Once complete, the extended highway will provide safe and efficient access to other areas in the Greater Toronto Area. The Highway 407 East Extension project aligns with Ontario's Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe by servicing long term employment growth in Durham Region.

Since October 2003, the provincial government has committed more than $424 million for transit, hospitals, highway infrastructure, municipal roads and bridges and other municipal capital projects in Durham Region.

The new extension including the link will be a tolled highway that is owned and controlled by the government. The government will have complete control of toll rates and revenues and for setting customer service standards.

The Ministry of Environment approved the provincial environmental assessment of the Highway 407 East Extension in June 2010, which was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act (OEAA). The government conducted extensive public consultation and study as part of the Environmental Assessment process.

The RFQ is the first step in the procurement process to select a team to design, build, finance and maintain the new Highway 407 East Extension.

The RFQ for this project will be posted at www.merx.com by 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, June 9, 2010.

RFQ submissions will be evaluated to pre-qualify project teams with the design, construction and maintenance capability and experience, the qualified personnel and the financial strength to deliver a project of this size and complexity. The short-listed teams will be invited to respond to a request for proposals (RFP), expected to be released later this year.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Transportation are working together to develop the Highway 407 East Extension, which will remain publicly owned and publicly controlled. Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to managing some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects - ensuring they are built on time and on budget.

Find out more about the procurement of this project at www.infrastructureontario.ca.

Disponible en français

For further information: Paulette den Elzen, Infrastructure Ontario, [phone]; Bob Nichols, Ministry of Transportation, [phone]