• In August 2016 the Study results were released.  This Study examined several possible routes for a 417 to Macdonald-Cartier bridge tunnel and concluded that a tunnel was technically feasible.  The recommended route for a tunnel would locate its southern portal near the Vanier Parkway at Coventry Rd and continue under the Rideau River, East Sandy Hill, East Lowertown with the northern portal at the southern end of the Macdonald-Cartier bridge.  

• The proposed tunnel would be 3.4km long, would in fact be 2 separate tunnels (one for each direction of travel), with 2 lanes in each tunnel. The cost was estimated at between 1.7B$ and 2.0B$ (2015$).  It was estimated that if the tunnel existed in 2016 that it would carry approximately 1700 trucks and 20,000-25,000 cars per day.  During the peak afternoon period the car traffic would approach 1400 vehicles per hour and a forecast was made that this would increase to 2500 vehicles per hour by 2031.  Unfortunately the Study did not provide any forecast for how much additional truck traffic the tunnel would carry by 2031.

• Ottawa City Council on Sep 14, 2016 voted 21-2 to set aside 2.5m$ in the 2017 budget for a detailed environmental assessment (EA) for this tunnel and commissioned the Mayor to approach the provincial and federal governments to also contribute to the funding of the EA on a 1/3 basis.

Downtown Tunnel Solution - What is it?

Similar Tunnels in other Cities 

• Miami and Dublin are two cities with very similar situations to Ottawa. In those cities downtown streets had been major truck routes toward the city seaports. Both of these cities built tunnels to solve this problem (Dublin in the mid 1990s and Miami in 2013).

• The Miami tunnel was a collaborative project which received funding from the City, County, and State, as well as loan assistance from the Federal government. It was constructed via a public-private partnership in which the construction consortium also provided some of the capital for the project and will be responsible for ongoing operations and maintenance. This is very similar to the financial arrangements for Ottawa's LRT project.

• In Windsor the main truck route to the USA follows major urban arterial roads to reach the Ambassador Bridge. The Ontario Government spent $1.5B to construct a new freeway (Hon Herb Gray Parkway) to bypass these roads which includes 11 tunneled sections (to minimize the impact of the new freeway on the City). This project was completed in 2014. The Federal Government is proposing to build a new bridge to Detroit from the endpoint of this new Ontario highway but any construction of such a bridge has yet (as of 2017) to start.

• Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Brisbane, Auckland, Oakland, and other cities have all recently completed, or are in the process of constructing, tunnels for cars/trucks under their downtowns.

• Most recent tunnels have been constructed on-time and on-budget. The Boston "big dig" is a standout exception. Ottawa's LRT tunnel, currently under construction, is mostly completed and is on-time and on-budget thus far.

Tunnel Solution - Pros/Cons 

Pros

• Solves the problem, once and for all: All through interprovincial trucks are diverted from the KERWN corridor. Also provides the potential opportunity to divert as many as 20,000 cars from these streets. The reduction in traffic could then make it possible to reduce the traffic lanes and widen sidewalks, add bike lanes, etc.
• Avoids opposition: No trucks are shifted to communities elsewhere in Ottawa or Gatineau. Avoids the highly contentious process of forcing a new bridge and corridor leading to significantly increased numbers of cars and trucks in other neighbourhoods.
• Does not encourage more urban sprawl and does not add new interprovincial capacity across the river to accommodate future growth in car traffic (and associated carbon emissions) as was proposed with a new east end bridge. This may be considered either a pro or a con, depending on one's perspective. 
• Cost: A tunnel will be an expensive project. It should be noted for context however that the estimated cost of the Kettle Island interprovincial bridge and associated approaches, as contemplated in 2013, was over $1.2B (2012$). This cost included major road works on both sides of a bridge (widening portions of Aviation Parkway, overpasses of Ogilvie Rd., Montreal Rd. and Maloney Blvd., new interchanges with highways 417 and 50, as well as modifications to Montée Paiement). 

• May not be able to accommodate trucks with dangerous goods, which represent potentially about 5% of the total truck volume. Currently there are no federal legal restrictions which prevent trucks carrying dangerous goods from using tunnels; however it is common policy not to allow dangerous goods in many tunnels.
• Only minor reductions of pollution compared to the status quo (i.e. some reduction due to less idling traffic on surface streets). It should be noted though that a tunnel would require a ventilation system and this does provide the possibility to add pollution control equipment to significantly reduce pollution from particulate matter in the downtown area. It would not lead to any meaningful reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 

Other Potential Alternatives: Logistics Based Solutions 

• Logistics based solutions is a term that encapsulates a broad set of measures, all involving changes in the goods transport industry that could reduce the number of interprovincial truck trips. These could be enacted via legislation banning trucks, or certain sizes of trucks from traversing the downtown or imposing a hefty fee for all truck trips through the downtown. Either or both of these actions could result in the industry evolving to make fewer trips (by combining them together in loads, or even moving them in other modes of transport such as rail or ferry across the river), or even relocating business operations so that fewer interprovincial truck trips would be required.

• Lower Public Cost: No public funds would be spent on a project such as a bridge or tunnel. It should be noted, however, that both the provincial and federal governments have committed to investing considerable sums in public infrastructure projects, including roads, in the next 10-15 years. If those funds are not spent in Ottawa, they will likely be spent on roads elsewhere.

• Partial Solution: What might be the most optimistic outcome of this approach? Suppose the number of truck trips were reduced by 50%. 50% of today's truck volume would still leave 1500 truck trips per day on downtown Ottawa streets. 

• Time: Any changes involving this approach would take a long time for the industry to implement/adjust to. 

• Costs: Higher costs would be imposed on businesses, which would likely eventually have an impact on the cost of goods and/or potential economic activity in the region. 

• Difficulty: How easy will it be for governments to enact legislation/regulations that force changes to how businesses operate? Which level of government has the authority to enact such regulations, given that the issue involves two municipalities, two provinces and the federal government? 

• Does not remove car trips: In addition to the 2500-3000 truck trips/day, there are about 20,000 car trips per day that use the KERWN corridor to connect directly between Highway 417 and the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge. Logistics based solutions will not impact levels of car traffic through the downtown. 

Political Landscape

Elected Representatives/Public Institutions 

• During the 2007-2013 Interprovincial Bridge Study Period, the City of Ottawa was committed to completing the study and, while contentious, the City supported the final recommendation for a new bridge located at Kettle Island/Aviation Parkway.

• The NCC led the 2007-2013 Bridge Study and would not consider any other options to solving the downtown interprovincial truck problem other than an additional bridge.

• Some provincial and federal politicians on the Ottawa side supported the bridge study but withdrew their support when the recommended location was Aviation Parkway/Kettle Island. After rejecting the outcome of the bridge study, these politicians supported a feasibility study for the alternative of a downtown truck tunnel.

• Mayor Jim Watson has stated that he does not support a new bridge at Aviation Parkway/Kettle Island and that moving the downtown truck problem to another community is not an acceptable solution. The mayor made statements to the effect that solving the truck problem should involve a fresh approach and supported the initiative to study the feasibility of a downtown tunnel.

• Gatineau City council did support the recommendation for a new bridge at Kettle Island (Montée Paiement on the Quebec side) but it passed a resolution saying it was unacceptable to route all of the interprovincial trucks onto the new bridge and called on the City of Ottawa to leave the KERWN corridor open to continue carrying trucks.

• On the Quebec side, during the 2015 federal election campaign, the successful candidate in Gatineau riding said that a new bridge across the river was the top infrastructure priority for east Gatineau. The candidates on the Ontario side all supported a tunnel as a possible option.

Community Groups

• The Lowertown Community Association (LCA) has had a long history of advocating for a solution to the truck problem and was a strong supporter of the 2007-2013 bridge study. They had no position on which was the preferred corridor for the bridge and limited their involvement to highlighting the impact of the current truck problem in their community, stating that a bridge should be built as soon as possible.

• Action Sandy Hill's position was similar to LCA's with the added nuance that the study should also include a more detailed analysis of the alternative of a downtown tunnel because it had the potential to provide a more complete/effective solution to the truck issues and because it could potentially face less opposition.

• A wide array of east-end community groups were all strongly united in opposing a bridge in their areas. Orléans, Blackburn Hamlet and Beacon Hill based groups opposed any potential bridge corridors through the Greenbelt while groups in Manor Park, Rockcliffe Park, Linden Lea and surrounding areas opposed any potential bridge corridors along the Aviation Parkway.

• Recreational users of the Ottawa River were strongly opposed to a bridge.

• Gatineau residents were split on the issue but on the whole they did not engage at as active a level as Ottawa residents in the 2007-2013 studies.