A brand new multi-million dollar highway that looks ready for GTA  drivers may not be open until next year, according to recently filed court documents about the dispute between the province and the consortium hired to build it.

To the naked eye, the $616-million Highway 427 extension appears complete but has remained off limits to the public for months. According to legal filings submitted to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the highway was supposed to be ready for use in the fall of 2020, but the province says it may not open this year unless the dispute is settled soon.

Both sides have since agreed to non-binding arbitration, but if that fails the dispute will head back to court, leaving Ontario drivers hoping to use the highway extension stuck in the middle.

“I’m saying be responsible and get this thing settled one way or the other as soon as possible for the benefit of the taxpayers who are paying for it,” said a frustrated Tony Carella, a Vaughan city councillor who represents a ward the extension runs through.

At the heart of the dispute, first reported by CBC News last month, is whether or not the newly built highway needs to undergo extensive repaving work to address safety issues alleged by the province.

LINK427, the consortium that built the extension, says the highway has already passed a road safety audit and the construction was done according to the design the province approved. In its court filings it accuses the government of stalling to avoid paying the consortium tens of millions of dollars  

Last month, LINK427 took the province to court, asking a judge to essentially order the highway opened and compel the government to pay the consortium the final $144-million payment it’s owed for the construction.

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