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

[jamincan]

They were flying before winter, and in the last two weeks, there have been signs of things starting to ramp up again. Hopefully they'll be back to their frantic pace we saw last year.

 

[stevensontransit]

While on a GO bus heading to and from Waterloo region, I filmed the 401 widening project from Highway 407 to Regional Road 25 and another section through Cambridge:

407 to Regional Road 25:

Regional Road 25 to 407:

Townline Road to Hespeler Road:

 

[drum118]

April 20
Surprise how little traffic was in both the collectors and express lanes going west at Mavis that it was a quick trip to get over the Credit River and wide open there after. Eastbound was moving very slow from the Credit River to the 407.

Forming in place for the beam support for the express bridge over the Credit River and saw no supports for the Orangeville line as well CN Halton Sub. Deck pour for Sixteen Mile Creek bridge with some forming for the barrier walls.

Light Mast going up between Sixth and Frith Line.

Grading taking place going west of the 407.

April 21
First time in a long time I had to use the full eastbound section and surprise there are 3 lanes of traffic now that was only doing at best at time 45 km from west of the 407 to the Mississauga Rd northbound on ramp where it went to full speed limit.

The various piles of dirt and concrete being crush into gravel that was being stock pile and moved to various locations. Lots of storm water trunk line being install
Credit River

Orangeville Line

Sixteen Mile

Looks like crews working to remove the old 24 overpass in Cambridge. Still a lot of centre barrier to be pour for the extension.

Grand River Bridge
Looks like the deck is pour with some barrier wall being form. The lanes from the bridge going west ready for base gravel and paving.

Most of the new lanes on the east side almost finish being pave. Should be using the new bridge by the summer to allow the shifting of traffic.

 

[KevinT]

Thanks for the photos around the Grand River bridge work @drum118. I live in the area and have been meaning to have my wife take some pictures from the passenger seat (or vice versa when she's driving), but I never remember until we're already driving past it and by then it's too late to get the phone camera going.

FYI: Paving on the west side of the new span was going on there today, and they've reconfigured the eastbound traffic by closing the left lane ahead of the Homer Watson / Fountain Street traffic merge lanes. I think they're trying to push the bottleneck farther up the road since traffic through the area has increased in the past few months as more people return to the office (the right lane used to end just after those merges), but despite that change the eastbound was still an orange zone in Waze when I rolled through at 11:15 this morning.

 

[Dinamo5]

Anyone know if the east bound 401 past conestoga college and coming up to the King st exit are they going to be building a flyover for people wanting to get onto the Kitchener highway 7/8.

 

[KevinT]

Anyone know if the east bound 401 past conestoga college and coming up to the King st exit are they going to be building a flyover for people wanting to get onto the Kitchener highway 7/8.

There were plans for that a long time ago already (somebody posted them way back in this thread) but nothing on the short term radar. The Grand River bridge work they're doing now is a pre-requisite for it though, so we'll have to wait a few years for that to complete and then see what the pols of the day are promising.

 

[innsertnamehere]

There were plans for that a long time ago already (somebody posted them way back in this thread) but nothing on the short term radar. The Grand River bridge work they're doing now is a pre-requisite for it though, so we'll have to wait a few years for that to complete and then see what the pols of the day are promising.

MTO completed the environmental assessment about a decade ago as a subdivision was proposed next to the interchange and MTO wanted to make sure they protected the land they needed for the flyovers. I don't think they plan on building them any time soon.

You can see the land that MTO protected from the subdivision here:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.ca

 

[Haljackey]

Anyone know if the east bound 401 past conestoga college and coming up to the King st exit are they going to be building a flyover for people wanting to get onto the Kitchener highway 7/8.

Checking the Ontario government's highway programs there is no mention of it... not even in 'upcoming expansion' beyond 2025.

Ontario’s highway programs

Learn about the 2024 Ontario highways program. Find highway expansion and rehabilitation projects that are planned or underway.

www.ontario.ca

It downright sucks getting to K-W from the West. You gotta go through the 'funhouse' of King Street before accessing Highway 8.

If that road is congested on google maps, I often go all the way to Highway 24, do a U-Turn, and access Highway 8 via 401 WB.

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EDIT: The Ontario government did announce improving GO transit service to London in the budget, including track upgrades. For us Londoners, taking a faster train to K-W and using their LRT vs driving via Highway 401/8 could reduce some need for these flyover ramps, but no real details were given. Very vague info, and the PCs won't even approve their own budget until after the next election (and they have to win another majority to ensure it passes in it's current form).

 

[stevensontransit]

While I have not made a video of the widening, I took some photos of the 401 widening from Milton to 407 interchange while on a GO bus.

 

[mtomo]

It says that it will be 10 lanes between James Snow Pkwy and RR 25. Does that mean no express/collector in this section?

 

[flyinggoats]

Yes, the Steeles bridge hasn't been lengthened to allow more than 10 lanes.

 

[drum118]

Yes, the Steeles bridge hasn't been lengthened to allow more than 10 lanes.

Same for 407 bridges

 

[Bojaxs]

It's a shame the express/ collectors setup won't be totally seamless from western Mississauga all the way to Pickering. The 401 between the 427 and Weston Rd. is always backed up. Particularly the eastbound lanes. Has there been any talk of converting this stretch of the 401 into a collectors/ express setup?

 

[stevensontransit]

It's a shame the express/ collectors setup won't be totally seamless from western Mississauga all the way to Pickering. The 401 between the 427 and Weston Rd. is always backed up. Particularly the eastbound lanes. Has there been any talk of converting this stretch of the 401 into a collectors/ express setup?

You can avoid some of that backup by detouring onto Highway 409 and Highway 427 and back onto 401.

 

[darth_freeman]

High level plans do exist that accomplish continuing the express/collector from 427 to 409. At the 427 interchange it involved replacing virtually every bridge and adding many more.

Highway 413 will result in improved capacity of that area as well by giving everyone going 401 to 400 an alternative.