The Ontario government is moving ahead with the stage of the Highway 3 Expansion project.
The province has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to three prequalified teams to design, build and finance the next stage of the work.
The next phase of the project includes widening the highway from two to four lanes for 15.6 kilometres between the Town of Essex and the Town of Leamington.
The prequalified teams shortlisted for the project were announced in October based on criteria identified in a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process that began in June 2021.
Each team is now being invited to begin preparing proposals that detail how they will design, build and finance the project, with a successful bidder expected to be announced in fall 2022.
As many as 17,300 vehicles travel on Highway 3 between Essex and Leamington each day.
Construction is currently underway to widen 4.9 kilometres of Highway 3 from Maidstone Avenue to Arner Townline in Essex and is expected to be completed in 2023.