Province Exploring Southern Ring Road Around Ottawa

Ontario is exploring the idea of a southern ring road around Ottawa — a concept that's been discussed for 50 years but never built.

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in April that the province sees merit in a bypass highway designed to move traffic around the city rather than through it. Speaking at a Mayor's Breakfast event, Sarkaria said there is "a good case" for the concept and that the province would look at its feasibility.

For commuters like retired lawyer Gerry Dust, the appeal is clear. Dust, who served on a ring-road committee in the 1970s, said a 90-minute drive from his Orléans home to his cottage west of the city can now stretch far longer as Highway 417 congestion worsens. "It's a pain in the butt, quite frankly," Dust said. "I'm astonished at how blocked up it usually is."

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Councillor Tim Tierney has emerged as one of the ring road's strongest political advocates. He argues the city's transportation system has reached a breaking point, with only one route — the Queensway — funneling nearly all east-west traffic through the city. When collisions close sections of Highway 417, traffic spills onto neighbourhood roads, creating gridlock. "A lot of the vehicles frankly don't need to go through downtown, but they're being forced to," Tierney said.

Critics counter that building more roads rarely solves congestion and that the project would pave over green space while encouraging more driving. Former mayor Larry O'Brien campaigned on the concept in 2010, while then-mayoral challenger Jim Watson criticized it as environmentally damaging and a recipe for urban sprawl.