The Ontario Government is poised to issue a request for proposals for advanced tunneling works on the Scarborough Subway Extension (SSE).

Premier Doug Ford and Kinga Surma, Associate Minister of Transportation (GTA), announced on August 18 that the RFP documents would be issued on August 20.

"After waiting over 30 years for a subway, our government is taking another critical step forward to build the improved, three-stop Scarborough Subway Extension for the people of Scarborough," said Premier Ford. "This project will create thousands of jobs, drive housing development, and triple the daily ridership to help reduce congestion and cut travel times for riders and commuters."

The SSE will extend the Toronto Transit Commission’s Bloor-Danforth Line 2 by approximately eight kilometres via three stops, from Kennedy Station to a new terminus at Sheppard Avenue and McCowan Road.

The preliminary design business case estimates the SSE will provide 38,000 people with walking distance access to rapid transit and see 105,000 daily boardings by 2041. The SSE will reduce the number of vehicle kilometres travelled during rush hour by 30,000 kilometres, and reduce auto-related greenhouse gas emissions by 10,000 tonnes annually.

On August 5, the province announced three teams of bidders per project were shortlisted for advance tunnelling work on the SSE. They are Acciona, East End Connectors and Strabag Inc.

Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx will evaluate proposals from each. The organizations are expected to award the tunnelling contract in mid-2021. Construction of the project is expected to create as many as 3,000 jobs annually.

"The RFP release is the next step in our plans for transit expansion in Scarborough as we develop a world-class transportation network that gets people where they want to go, when they want to get there," said Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney. "Each project milestone demonstrates our commitment to building a modern, efficient rapid transit network that best serves Scarborough for generations to come."

To expedite work on the SSE project, tunnelling will begin first. Separate contracts will be awarded for the balance of the work.

"Issuing this RFP demonstrates that we are making progress on these priority subway projects to reduce commute times," said Surma. "With the province and municipal governments now firmly supporting our transit expansion plan, we continue to jointly call on the federal government to provide its fair share ― funding at least 40 percent of our four nationally significant subway projects. Formalizing this funding partnership with the federal government remains a top priority."

The release of the RFP is part of the government's continued commitment to deliver the largest subway expansion in the country's history to commuters and businesses in the Greater Toronto Area.

In addition to the Scarborough Subway Extension and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, this plan includes the all-new Ontario Line and the Yonge North Subway Extension. Planning is underway for all four projects, and procurements will be staged to ensure each project is delivered successfully.