Scarborough residents will learn the province’s preferred location for a promised subway extension early next month, says Transportation Minister Glen Murray.

“In the next couple of weeks we should have an announcement on what the routing will be, what the design will be and what the cost will be,” he told reporters on the way into a cabinet meeting Wednesday.

Murray cast doubt on any federal financial aid for the underground transit line — pledged by the Liberals in a recent byelection campaign — and then seemingly undercut his push for help by expressing hope the project can be completed within $1.4 billion in funding allocated by the province.

That money “may get us pretty far to our goal without anyone else. We’ll wait and see.”

TTC chair Karen Stintz has warned $1.4 billion is not enough to build a subway, saying at least $1.8 billion in needed from the provincial government. The TTC has a preliminary estimate of $2.3 billion for the seven-kilometre route.

Murray said he has asked the provincial transit agency Metrolinx “how much we can do on our own, with $1.4 billion. How far does that get us? Those options are being developed now.”

The province had planned a seven-stop light rail transit line to replace the aging Scarborough Rapid Transit line, then changed gears to support a three-stop extension of the Bloor-Danforth subway line during the Aug. 1 byelection campaign in Scarborough-Guildwood. The Liberals held the riding.

Queen’s Park wants to have the subway run on a similar route to the light rail transit plan to “maximize the impact of this line and get it connected to as many people (as possible),” said Murray.

He is slated to meet later this week with his federal counterpart, Lisa Raitt, who took over the transport ministry in a mid-July cabinet shuffle.

“I’m not overly hopeful that the federal government is going to be a big partner. When you put a 416 area code in front of transit project, they disappear, their cheques disappear,” Murray charged.

“If it’s a 905 area code or a 519 area code then all of a sudden cheques start appearing and they become a one-third partner. I’m looking more to the city. I think the city may be a stronger partner.”

Complicating that is Mayor Rob Ford, said Murray.

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“Part of our frustration is we have a mayor who . . . makes two promises over and over. One to cut taxes . . . (and) to build subways. So far he hasn’t put five cents into subways,” Murray continued.

“We’re making sure we have options in which we can deliver to Scarborough within the means of the provincial government and potentially other partners.”