Highway Bridge Expansion Will Support Thousands of Jobs and Niagara's Growing Tourism Sector
Photo Caption: Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West, is joined at the Garden City Skyway in St. Catharines by Hon. Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation, and Hon. Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure, as well as Jim Bradley, Chair of the Regionla Municipality of Niagara; Mat Sicoe, Mayor of the City of St. Catharines; Frank Campion, Mayor of the City of Welland; Gary Zalepa, Lord Mayor of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake; Erwin Wiens, Deputy Lord Mayor of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, and members of the Skyway Bridging Partners leadership team.
NEWS
June 11, 2025
ST. CATHARINES – The Ontario government is awarding a contract for the detail design of the Garden City Skyway Twinning Project, marking a significant milestone in the province's plan to protect Ontario by tackling gridlock, creating jobs and driving economic growth. The Garden City Skyway is a key link in the province's highway network, connecting Niagara's three international bridge crossings to the rest of Ontario and supporting the movement of more than $1.1 trillion in goods throughout the Greater Golden Horseshoe every year.
"Today's announcement that the Ontario government is awarding the design contract for the Garden City Skyway is another significant milestone in our plan to protect Ontario by building critical infrastructure," said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West.
"Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we are tackling gridlock in Niagara and strengthening a critical supply chain link between the Greater Golden Horseshoe and our local international border crossings, supporting Ontario's economy in the face of American tariffs and global economic uncertainty."
"As President Trump's tariffs continue to target families and businesses nationwide, it has never been more important to protect Ontario by investing in the transportation infrastructure that will strengthen our province for years to come," said Hon. Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation.
"Expanding the Garden City Skyway will secure a vital trade and tourism corridor, support good-paying jobs during construction and build a more competitive economy here in Ontario for the long term."
The existing Garden City Skyway, built in 1963, requires critical rehabilitation to maintain its structural integrity and service life. Closing multiple lanes for several years to complete the work would lead to significant congestion. Constructing a new twin bridge will ensure traffic flow is maintained during the rehabilitation of the existing bridge deck and will support any future expansion of the Queen Elizabeth Way and growth in the region.
Skyway Bridging Partners will complete the design for the bridge, road, ramps and utility relocation. When finished, the new four-lane, 2.2-kilometre bridge will carry Toronto-bound traffic over the Welland Canal of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway System. The existing bridge will then be rehabilitated to carry Niagara-bound traffic. Twinning the Garden City Skyway will support thousands of good-paying jobs, including engineers and heavy equipment operators and labourers.
The Garden City Skyway carries over 100,000 trucks and vehicles daily along the Queen Elizabeth Way, a critical trade route for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which is home to two-thirds of Ontario's population and transports $1.16 trillion in goods annually on its highways. The Skway also provides a key link to Niagara Falls, Canada's top tourist destination, which welcomes 12 million visitors per year.
"Our government has reached an important milestone for the expansion of the Garden City Skyway, which will deliver faster travel times for people and businesses in the Greater Golden Horseshoe," said Hon. Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure.
"Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we are delivering on our more than $200 billion plan to build the infrastructure our province needs to reduce gridlock, keep workers on the job and drive economic growth."
"The Garden City Skyway twinning project is a transformative investment in the future of St. Catharines," said Mat Siscoe, Mayor of the City of St. Catharines.
"This project will strengthen our local economy, improve traffic flow and ensure safer, more reliable connections for local residents and businesses alike."
Quick Facts:
- Expanding the Garden City Skyway is a key feature of Connecting the Greater Golden Horseshoe: A Transportation Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
- The Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024, received Royal Assent last year, allowing the province to accelerate the construction of priority highway projects such as the Garden City Skyway, Highway 413 and Bradford Bypass.
Ontario is investing nearly $30 billion over the next ten years to repair and expand highways, roads and bridges across the province.
- By 2051, the population of the Greater Golden Horseshoe is estimated to grow from 10 million to almost 15 million people. Over the same period, the region's employment figures will grow from almost five million to seven million jobs.
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