Premier Doug Ford Directs $450 Million for Bradford Bypass Highway and Bridge Construction

BRADFORD, Ont. — Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria announced on Monday the awarding of $450 million in major construction contracts through Infrastructure Ontario to commence bridge superstructure construction, grade separations, and interchange connections for the 16.2-kilometer Bradford Bypass four-lane freeway connecting Highway 400 in Simcoe County to Highway 404 in York Region.

The project, a centerpiece of Ontario's $28 billion provincial highway expansion capital plan, addresses gridlock across the growing municipalities of Bradford West Gwillimbury, East Gwillimbury, and Newmarket, where commuters and agricultural freight currently struggle through congested two-lane rural roads.

Saving Simcoe County Commuters 35 Minutes Each Way East-west regional travel between Highway 400 and Highway 404 currently forces over 40,000 vehicles daily through downtown Bradford on County Road 88, causing severe traffic delays and diesel exhaust congestion along municipal main streets.

"For decades, previous governments sat on their hands while families and truckers in Simcoe County and York Region sat in bumper-to-bumper gridlock on local roads," Premier Doug Ford said during an announcement in Bradford. "We are getting shovels in the ground and getting it done. This $450 million investment builds the bridges and interchanges for the Bradford Bypass, saving commuters up to 35 minutes each trip, getting agricultural goods to market faster, and supporting 2,500 good-paying union construction jobs."

Engineering Features and Environmental Protection The $450 million package finances:

• Holland River Bridge Crossing: Constructing twin 400-meter multi-span bridge structures elevated over the sensitive Holland River marsh to protect wetland ecology.
• Highway 400 & Highway 404 Interchanges: Constructing high-capacity grade-separated flyover ramps and automated lighting arrays.
• Agricultural Wildlife Overpasses: Constructing two dedicated wildlife crossings with native vegetative cover.

Local mayors in Simcoe and York counties, the Ontario Trucking Association, and construction trades unions praised the government's investment, highlighting that the bypass relieves municipal downtowns of heavy tractor-trailer traffic.