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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion


Effective July 11 or as soon as possible after that date.
  • Hwy 403 from Brantford to Hamilton
  • Hwy 401, Tilbury, extending the existing 110 km/h zone further east by 7 km
  • Hwy 401 from Colborne to Belleville
  • Hwy 401 from Belleville to Kingston
  • Hwy 401 from Hwy 16 to Quebec boundary
  • Hwy 406 from Thorold to Welland
  • Hwy 416 from Hwy 401 to Ottawa
  • Hwy 69 from Sudbury to French River
 

Effective July 11 or as soon as possible after that date.
  • Hwy 403 from Brantford to Hamilton
  • Hwy 401, Tilbury, extending the existing 110 km/h zone further east by 7 km
  • Hwy 401 from Colborne to Belleville
  • Hwy 401 from Belleville to Kingston
  • Hwy 401 from Hwy 16 to Quebec boundary
  • Hwy 406 from Thorold to Welland
  • Hwy 416 from Hwy 401 to Ottawa
  • Hwy 69 from Sudbury to French River
I want to like this but there’s not a single section that I drive on frequently. Why are they doing this so piecemeal?
 
My understanding is that MTO is making small upgrades to the stretches beforehand - i.e. upgraded guardrails, etc.

I do know the 403 through those stretches was resurfaced last year - I imagine they looped in some minor upgrades with that before increasing the limit.

It's good to see more increases, but I definitely see a lot more room for reasonable stretches to be increased to 110 still:

- 400 Vaughan - Barrie, north of Barrie to MacTier
- 401 Kingston to 416
- 401 London to Kitchener, Cambridge to Milton
- 407 in it's entirety
- 418
- 401 Cobourg to Colborne
- 17 west of Sudbury
- 11 Gravenhurst to Bracebridge


I also think the twinned parts of 11/17 east of Thunder Bay desperately need a limit higher than 90 km/h, be it 100 or 110.
 
My understanding is that MTO is making small upgrades to the stretches beforehand - i.e. upgraded guardrails, etc.

I do know the 403 through those stretches was resurfaced last year - I imagine they looped in some minor upgrades with that before increasing the limit.

It's good to see more increases, but I definitely see a lot more room for reasonable stretches to be increased to 110 still:

- 400 Vaughan - Barrie, north of Barrie to MacTier
- 401 Kingston to 416
- 401 London to Kitchener, Cambridge to Milton
- 407 in it's entirety
- 418
- 401 Cobourg to Colborne
- 17 west of Sudbury
- 11 Gravenhurst to Bracebridge


I also think the twinned parts of 11/17 east of Thunder Bay desperately need a limit higher than 90 km/h, be it 100 or 110.

The 400 will not get a higher speed limit between Barrie and Toronto for years to come, because of all the construction along the corridor. I would agree with the 401 between Woodstock and Kitchener (Homer Watson), as that is built to the latest standards and has very few exits. Highway 400 north of Barrie is not built to the latest MTO standards. The traffic is light (except cottage country weekends) but it doesn't have the wide shoulders or upgraded guard rails.
 
Yea. I assume the 400 could be phased as widening construction finishes. Vaughan to Newmarket will be done in a year or two so they could do that stretch then.

It'll clearly be the same thing for the 401 south of London, which looks like it will be increased as it's widened to 6 lanes.

The 400 north of Barrie may not be fully built to standard, but upgrades should be relatively easy, and it's traffic patterns suggest behavior closer to a 110km/h road already anyway.

The lowest hanging fruit right now as it stands is the 401 from London to Kitchener and the 407, IMO. the rest are perhaps a bit more difficult, but not unreasonable as a whole.
 

Effective July 11 or as soon as possible after that date.
  • Hwy 403 from Brantford to Hamilton
  • Hwy 401, Tilbury, extending the existing 110 km/h zone further east by 7 km
  • Hwy 401 from Colborne to Belleville
  • Hwy 401 from Belleville to Kingston
  • Hwy 401 from Hwy 16 to Quebec boundary
  • Hwy 406 from Thorold to Welland
  • Hwy 416 from Hwy 401 to Ottawa
  • Hwy 69 from Sudbury to French River
Official news release with map
 
My understanding is that MTO is making small upgrades to the stretches beforehand - i.e. upgraded guardrails, etc.

I do know the 403 through those stretches was resurfaced last year - I imagine they looped in some minor upgrades with that before increasing the limit.

It's good to see more increases, but I definitely see a lot more room for reasonable stretches to be increased to 110 still:

- 400 Vaughan - Barrie, north of Barrie to MacTier
- 401 Kingston to 416
- 401 London to Kitchener, Cambridge to Milton
- 407 in it's entirety
- 418
- 401 Cobourg to Colborne
- 17 west of Sudbury
- 11 Gravenhurst to Bracebridge


I also think the twinned parts of 11/17 east of Thunder Bay desperately need a limit higher than 90 km/h, be it 100 or 110.
Hwy 11 between Gravenhurst and Bracebridge has a couple of at-grade intersections, which might a hard stop for the MTO. If memory serves, 17 west of Sudbury and 11/17 east of TBay does as well.
 

I'll bring the map forward for everyone:

1713977390887.png
 
There is one at-grade next to Gravenhurst, then it's fully separated until north of Bracebridge. It's a good 15-20 kms without an at-grade intersection.

11/17 has many at-grade intersections, yes.
 

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