The provincial government dropped a bombshell early Wednesday morning, announcing that it had embarked on a technical evaluation exploring a new "driver and transit tunnel expressway under Highway 401."

The Ontario government claims that the new expressway "is expected to provide a new, faster route for some of the most gridlocked roadways in the province north of the City of Toronto, extending from beyond Brampton and Mississauga in the west to beyond Markham and Scarborough in the east."

Highway 401's stretch through the GTA is already considered to be the busiest stretch of highway in North America, though the province is looking for even more capacity to be added to the constantly gridlocked superhighway — which is already as wide as 18 lanes in some places.

In a news release, the province touts the potential new route as a way to "significantly reduce traffic in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area while supporting economic growth during construction and in the long-term by helping to get goods and services to market sooner."

Premier Doug Ford stated that "Ontario's gridlock problem is leaving the average Toronto-area commuter stuck in traffic for 98 hours every year, taking up precious time that would be better spent with family, friends and loved ones, and is costing our economy $11 billion every year in the GTHA alone."

"Today's announcement is the latest step in our nearly $100 billion plan to tackle this gridlock by building and expanding highways and transit, including Highway 401, the Bradford Bypass and Highway 413, so we can get people and goods moving across Ontario once more."

In a Wednesday morning press conference, Ford added that the new tunnel would extend from Mississauga to Markham, making it "one of the world's longest tunnels" upon completion.

According to the province, preliminary exploration of the new route will see engineering services secured through the Ministry of Transportation, with support from Infrastructure Ontario. 

Experts will look into the feasibility of various options to expand the 401's capacity, including routes within the highway's existing right-of-way, the number of lanes, length, and the number and design of interchanges connecting to other highways.

While no cost or time estimates for the project have been publicly released, the province has promised that the new expressway would not be tolled.