A freeway project in the vicinity of Cambridge, Ontario was stalled in the planning stage because of citizen reaction to the route proposal. A multidisciplined team was assembled under the direction of the recently formed Waterloo regional government. The team studied the need for and alternatives to a new transportation corridor for a major section of Ontario's Highway 8 between Kitchener and Cambridge.The study examined present and future transportation needs. Alternatives were evaluated as they affected community goals, including environmental, social, economic, and transportation considerations. It was a reactive process involving three levels of government, various institutions, regional bodies, and the public.The study had several unique features. The project team conducting the study was a joint venture of staff from five affected governing bodies and a private consulting consortium working under the direction of a steering committee. The study was constrained in time by other feasibility studies and ongoing official plan study schedules but was not compressed in scope. Public participation involved uniquely differing interest groups and communities (urban, semi-urban, and rural).In this paper, the major features of the project organization, the traffic systems analysis, the corridor evaluation, and the public participation program are described.