Ontario taxpayers are set to spend $9.1 million to learn if or how it is feasible to build a tunnel under Highway 401.The province issued a request for proposals for the study in the spring, and a spokesperson for Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria says WSP Canada Inc. was recently awarded the contract.Before a feasibility study was even started, Ontario Premier Doug Ford spoke often and in detail about his vision for a tunnel. Ford laid out his plan for the tunnel to be 19.5 metres wide and three levels, with one level each for eastbound and westbound traffic and another for transit.Related:Ford envisions three-level tunnel under Highway 401, feasibility study not startedFord government takes ‘significant step’ forward with 401 tunnel plan: Transportation MinisterThe premier has also urged Prime Minister Mark Carney to designate it as a nation-building project, saying it is needed in order to reduce gridlock and boost economic productivity.Critics have called the idea a vanity project or a fantasy.Ford has previously said the feasibility study would look at how — not if — the tunnel could be built, but the request for proposals does contemplate the possibility of a tunnel not being possible.