The provincial government is officially gearing up to build a new bridge alongside the Garden City Skyway, a high-level bridge located in St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake. 

In a press release on Friday, the Ford government revealed that it had issued a Request for Proposals to advance the expansion of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) Garden City Skyway, in an effort to reduce gridlock in the area. 

"With Ontario's population growing at a historic rate, we need to ensure our transportation infrastructure keeps pace," said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. 

"The new and expanded Garden City Skyway will be a game-changer, meaning less congestion and faster travel for the people of St. Catharines and Niagara Region."

Ontario is building a new four-lane bridge to run alongside the Garden City Skyway.

Once complete, each bridge will have four lanes to reduce congestion on a vital border route used by more than 100,000 drivers and commercial vehicles every day.https://t.co/BsCuBI0xWb pic.twitter.com/ht7gre4I4N

— Ontario Ministry of Transportation (@ONtransport) April 8, 2024

The Skyway expansion includes construction of a new four-lane, 2.2-kilometre bridge across the Welland Canal, as we all as the rehabilitation and full deck replacement of the current bridge. 

Once complete, each bridge will have four lanes with the new bridge carrying Toronto-bound traffic and the upgraded existing bridge carrying Niagara-bound traffic. 

"The Request for Proposals (RFP) is an important step on the path to expanding the Garden City Skyway. With the projected increases in population and jobs throughout the Greater Golden Horseshoe in the coming years, this expansion will allow people and goods to travel more freely through Niagara," said Mat Siscoe, Mayor of St. Catharines.

On average, approximately 106,000 vehicles cross the Garden City Skyway bridge daily. By 2051, the Greater Golden Horseshoe's population is expected to grow from 10 million to nearly 15 million people. 

"This is one of the most critical corridors from an economic perspective in this province. In a year, will see about a trillion dollars worth of goods travel over this piece of infrastructure behind us here today," Sarkaria said. 

Upon completion of the bridge, traffic from the existing bridge will be temporarily switched onto the newly constructed bridge to allow for rehabilitation of the existing Skyway bridge. 

Work is officially expected to begin in 2026 once a proposal is selected.