OTTAWA — The Ontario government is putting more than $1 billion toward a light rail transit project in Ottawa, including a connection to the airport.
The funding for the second phase of the project will add 30 kilometres of rail, with 19 new stations, and will partly fund a link to the airport and an extension to Orleans.
Construction is expected to start in 2018 and service would begin in 2023.
Premier Kathleen Wynne says the "major leap forward in the modernization of Ottawa's transit infrastructure" will create 1,000 full-time jobs, make commuting easier and drive emissions down.
The announcement is one of several transit funding announcements the province has made this week, with money coming from the Liberal government's promised spending of $160 billion over 12 years on infrastructure.
Ontario is putting $150 million toward planning and designing a Toronto downtown relief subway line, as well as $55 million toward planning for a subway extension northward.
