Roads: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Highway 410 (MTO, U/C, Planned)

[drum118]

Orange lines are painted on Hurontario in place of white and yellow with some lane width reduce as well close for the southbound lane north of the bridge.

Pylons strung on both side of the road on both side of the bridge.

This was on Sunday.

 

[doady]

There's been a few iterations. 407 from the east to Winston Churchill was always 407. At one point from there to QEW was to be 407 (including the bottom leg of the 403) and the 407 from 9th Line to Burlington was 403; that was nice and simple.

Yes, that is what I thought too. There is even the 403 in Hamilton and Brantford, it is kind of obvious they were supposed to be connected eventually using the route that the 407 takes now through Oakville and Burlington.

 

[nfitz]

Yes, that is what I thought too. There is even the 403 in Hamilton and Brantford, it is kind of obvious they were supposed to be connected eventually using the route that the 407 takes now through Oakville and Burlington.

Well they are connected, sort of. The piece of QEW from Burlington to the 403 interchange west of Winston Churchill is signed as both the 403 and QEW; so the 403 is continuous from the 401 in Mississauga to the .. uh ... 401 near Woodstock.

 

[Dan416]

Well they are connected, sort of. The piece of QEW from Burlington to the 403 interchange west of Winston Churchill is signed as both the 403 and QEW; so the 403 is continuous from the 401 in Mississauga to the .. uh ... 401 near Woodstock.

Of course that came after the fact. 403 and 403 were disconnected for many years. Only on recent maps is the QEW cosigned as 403. Personally I think it's an inelegant solution, as our highways generally aren't cosigned like that (unlike, say, Quebec).

If it were up to me, I'd buy back the 407 from the 403 to the 403 and rename it 403.

 

[adma]

Personally I think it's an inelegant solution, as our highways generally aren't cosigned like that (unlike, say, Quebec).

Or at least, the 400-series highways aren't. (Not that it matters, given how few *non*-400-series King's Highways remain...)

 

[Dan416]

Or at least, the 400-series highways aren't. (Not that it matters, given how few *non*-400-series King's Highways remain...)

I went with a friend to his cottage in Peterborough a few weeks ago and was amazed that the highway between the 401 and Peterborough wasn't a 400-series highway, but 35/115, but it seemed very much like a 400-series. It looked to me like they would 400-series-ize it in the future. I was wondering if they did, would it become 415 or or 435?

 

[nfitz]

I went with a friend to his cottage in Peterborough a few weeks ago and was amazed that the highway between the 401 and Peterborough wasn't a 400-series highway, but 35/115, but it seemed very much like a 400-series. It looked to me like they would 400-series-ize it in the future. I was wondering if they did, would it become 415 or or 435?

If my memory serves me correctly (without looking at a map) the 35/115 from the 401 doesn't really meet 400-series criteria, and has all these odd intersections and barriers. But the newer piece where the 35 and 115 break apart and then goes towards Peterborough, and does look like a 400-series highway IS, because it was to be yet another piece of the 407 ... though I don't think it will join properly with the missing piece between Brock Road and 35 anymore ...

 

[Dan416]

If my memory serves me correctly (without looking at a map) the 35/115 from the 401 doesn't really meet 400-series criteria, and has all these odd intersections and barriers. But the newer piece where the 35 and 115 break apart and then goes towards Peterborough, and does look like a 400-series highway IS, because it was to be yet another piece of the 407 ... though I don't think it will join properly with the missing piece between Brock Road and 35 anymore ...

Not all of it is entirely 400-series-esque, for sure. But there are quite a few proper interchanges.

I didn't realize it was supposed to be part of the 407. Although we know there'll be that new part of the 407 that won't be part of the ETR, so I guess 407 could work here. But why won't they link up properly anymore?

EDIT: http://www.407eastea.com/downloads/Section_5_EastMainline.pdf

It looks on the map like the 407 east extension leads right into the 35/115 just before 35 and 115 separate, and it does continue along 35/115's routing and follows 115 after it separates. And looking at the 115's routing, it actually does kinda follow Highway 7, so a Highway 407 moniker actually makes sense. I hope they do indeed rename it 407 when 407 is expanded to there.

 

[nfitz]

It looks on the map like the 407 east extension leads perfectly into the 115 where it separates from 35.

Ah, so it does ... I guess they moved it ... again.

I'd think one day, it will go all the way to Ottawa ... in other 50-75 years ... they are building a piece from 417 to Carleton Place right now ... but I expect they'll just call it 7.

 

[Dan416]

Ah, so it does ... I guess they moved it ... again.

I'd think one day, it will go all the way to Ottawa ... in other 50-75 years ... they are building a piece from 417 to Carleton Place right now ... but I expect they'll just call it 7.

Yeah I imagine that would be the case. Do you have a link for the part they're building now out there? Although there's certainly precedent for a highway to be separated for a good many years (see 403 lol).

EDIT: The link to the map I gave is outdated, my mistake. The most up-to-date one (as far as I can tell) is here: http://www.407eastea.com/downloads/2009/East_Mainline_Part2.pdf WARNING: large file 26.3 MB (I recommend downloading it, and then opening it in Acrobat rather than opening it straight into FF or IE).

From the look of that map, the interchange with 35/115 isn't as elegant as I'd've liked. I'm not sure why the eastbound lanes from the 407 take this long out of the way route to get to the 35/115 section. Maybe you're right and 115 won't be renamed 407? What do you make of that map nfitz?

(And yes, I realize this is way off-topic. I can't remember off-hand if there's a 407 east extension thread already, but if there is a mod can move our posts about the 407 there).

 

[nfitz]

I doubt anything will be renamed 407, at least until the 2090s ... that seems too political, as people now associate 407 with a toll highway.

Yeah, that realignment doesn't work as well for connecting the 2 highways; on the other hand, for those of us who might be more likely to use it to drop down to the 401 at 35/115 it's better.

I can't find a good link for the Highway 7 upgrade at Carleton Place. There's a bit of information on the MTO 5-year plan, where it shows 3 phases that will be complete by 2011. The current ([URL="http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/map/mapinformation.shtml"]2005 apparently) highway map on the MTO website shows it as a dotted line[/URL], so that gives you the idea of the distance involved (about 20 km).

One of the construction contracts is on the construction area of the MTO website.

 

[Dan416]

I doubt anything will be renamed 407, at least until the 2090s ... that seems too political, as people now associate 407 with a toll highway.

Yeah, that realignment doesn't work as well for connecting the 2 highways; on the other hand, for those of us who might be more likely to use it to drop down to the 401 at 35/115 it's better.

I can't find a good link for the Highway 7 upgrade at Carleton Place. There's a bit of information on the MTO 5-year plan, where it shows 3 phases that will be complete by 2011. The current ([URL="http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/map/mapinformation.shtml"]2005 apparently) highway map on the MTO website shows it as a dotted line[/URL], so that gives you the idea of the distance involved (about 20 km).

One of the construction contracts is on the construction area of the MTO website.

Well the 407 east isn't going to be toll is it? So I don't see any problem with renaming the 115 to 407.

 

[nfitz]

Well the 407 east isn't going to be toll is it? So I don't see any problem with renaming the 115 to 407.

There's no funding, or indication of if and when 407 would be constructed east of the existing. So hard to say. When the Ontario government started construction of the original 407 in the early 1990s there was no indication it would be toll ... until after the 1995 election, when the PCs were elected, and decided to accelerate construction and turn it into a toll highway. Whose to say what a future government will do to build an extension ... I'd be surprised if it wasn't toll though, but not necessarily the same owner and operator.

Oh here's a press release I noticed, on the opening of the first phase of the Highway 7 expansion from 417 to Carleton Place; the current construction is the second phase, with the third phase to start in 2010.

 

[Dan416]

There's no funding, or indication of if and when 407 would be constructed east of the existing. So hard to say. When the Ontario government started construction of the original 407 in the early 1990s there was no indication it would be toll ... until after the 1995 election, when the PCs were elected, and decided to accelerate construction and turn it into a toll highway. Whose to say what a future government will do to build an extension ... I'd be surprised if it wasn't toll though, but not necessarily the same owner and operator.

Oh here's a press release I noticed, on the opening of the first phase of the Highway 7 expansion from 417 to Carleton Place; the current construction is the second phase, with the third phase to start in 2010.

Luckily the Conservatives won't be winning in Ontario any time soon. I don't see McGuinty building the eastern section of the 407 as toll, but I could be wrong. Maybe they could build as toll until it pays for itself?

 

[salmonz]

Drawings available for 410/Hurontario

I received the drawings of the 410/Hurontario widening today from the MTO.

Complete Drawing (6MB):
http://pdfvia.com/showfile-5154/overall_plan.pdf

401/Hurontario Interchange Drawing (3MB):
http://pdfvia.com/showfile-5153/interchange_plan.pdf