Rethinking the Queensway

[JM1]

I was thinking that if you were to somehow manage a cut and cover operation for the 417 between, say Preston and the Rideau River, would the building space above it and the development rights justify the cost?

My guess is that the answer is yes. You could improve N-S road connections, and possibly even make way for an additional E-W LRT while simultaneously burying a noisy roadway. Between the sale of rights to the land, developmetn fees, and city taxes, it probably would not be too costly to pay the whole operation off (especially since it is not a tunnel, but a cut and cover operation).

Any views?

MOD EDIT: Changed the thread title from "417 Land Value" to "Tearing Down the Queensway" to reflect the discussion
-WW