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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

Woodbridge_Heights said:
The zipper merge is a two way street. I've seen drivers using the meeting lane as their own personal queue jump lane. And still others veering around vehicles in front of them on the shoulder to "get further ahead"

I'm not endorsing vigilantes enforcing their idea of appropriate lane merging but remember it's always a two way street.
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Wouldn't be possible to queue jump if people were zipper merging correctly.
 
afransen said:
Wouldn't be possible to queue jump if people were zipper merging correctly.
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ding ding ding ding. But people don't and like when a zipper gets jammed bc two teeth are trying to squeeze into the space meant for 1 tooth, or any circumstance that ruins the orderly L-R-L-R of a zipper and you get angry drivers yelling at each other.
 
Woodbridge_Heights said:
ding ding ding ding. But people don't and like when a zipper gets jammed bc two teeth are trying to squeeze into the space meant for 1 tooth, or any circumstance that ruins the orderly L-R-L-R of a zipper and you get angry drivers yelling at each other.
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11-wd40-zipper.jpg
From link.
 
Transportfan said:
The Ontario /GTA Highways Discussion thread has turned into the US Highways discussion thread.
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That's because most Canadian highway design follow the American highway design, when we should be following the European highway designs.
 
I was heading north to Sudbury today on 69 and I noticed how much work has been done on the widening around French River. It seems like they still have to finish a few things, the significant item left to finish would be the southbound bridge on the French River.

Once it's finished, they still have a large gap left to widen.
 
It's now open.

NEWS RELEASE

Ontario Opens Highway 427 Expansion​

New lanes will reduce travel time by up to 25 minutes during peak periods
September 16, 2021
Ministry of Transportation
VAUGHAN – The Ontario Government is opening a 10-kilometre expansion of Highway 427 from Finch Avenue to Major Mackenzie Drive to help improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and move people and goods safely.
“I am pleased to announce the new and widened sections of Highway 427 will be open to the public on September 18,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation. “As part of our vision for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, our government is investing in highway infrastructure to address congestion and keep up with the growing needs of Ontarians.”
The expansion of Highway 427, which serves as a heavily-used commuter route to the City of Vaughan and neighbouring communities, is expected to save commuters up to 25 minutes of total travel time for a two-way trip during peak periods compared to driving along parallel municipal roadways.
A 6.6-kilometre extension of the highway includes eight new lanes from Highway 7 to Rutherford Road and six new lanes to Major Mackenzie Drive. Three new interchanges at Langstaff Road, Rutherford Road and Major Mackenzie Drive have also been constructed to connect roadways without interruption.
A four-kilometre segment has also been widened to eight lanes from Finch Avenue to Highway 7 along with an upgraded full interchange at Highway 7.
“The Highway 427 expansion will greatly benefit the people of Vaughan-Woodbridge. Not only will it help take vehicles causing crippling gridlock off our local roads, but it will also make our community safer while reducing travel times for commuters and commercial vehicles,” said Michael Tibollo, MPP for Vaughan – Woodbridge. “Most of all, it means the creation of new opportunities like we have never seen before.”
Ontario will also be opening one High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane in each direction of Highway 427 to further help improve traffic flow. The new northbound HOV lane will be located between Highway 409 and Rutherford Rd. The southbound HOV lane will start north of Rutherford Road and connect to an existing HOV lane south of Finch Ave.
Improving highways, roads and bridges across the province is a key part of the government's commitment to be a world leader in moving people and goods safely while driving economic growth and job creation by investing in transportation infrastructure.

Quick Facts​

  • Approximately 1,000 jobs were created and sustained through 2018-2021 as a result of this highway expansion.
  • The extension will have two interchanges near the Vaughan Intermodal Facility to accommodate Long Combination Vehicles, making it easier for trucks to manoeuvre and support the efficient movement of goods across the province and beyond.
  • To protect species at risk impacted by the project’s construction, the ministry completed a 3.20 hectare woodland restoration of a former agricultural field on the east side of the highway, just north of Rutherford Road, and installed 20 habitat structures for four species of bats (Little Brown Myotis, Northern Myotis, Eastern Small-footed Myotis and Tri-coloured Bat).
  • The Ministry of Transportation worked together with Infrastructure Ontario to deliver the Highway 427 expansion project using their public-private partnership (P3) delivery model.

Quotes​

"Our government continues to make investments in Ontario’s roads, bridges, and highways. By improving infrastructure in our communities, we are improving the quality of life for the people of Ontario. The completed Highway 427 expansion project is an excellent example of our government’s work, as it will enhance our roadways, reduce the amount of time people spend in their vehicles, and give them more time to enjoy their family and friends."
- Kinga Surma
Minister of Infrastructure
"Our government is expanding subways in York, improving all GO Stations in King and Vaughan, and completing the Highway 427 expansion to reduce congestion and get people moving. This expansion is critical to supporting families, commuters and small businesses who need to efficiently move across the GTA without the headache of debilitating gridlock."
- Stephen Lecce
MPP King–Vaughan
"We are excited and pleased about the opening of the Highway 427 expansion on Saturday, September 18. We are proud to have delivered this important piece of transportation infrastructure that will serve people travelling through and around the GTA."
- Michael Lindsay
President and CEO of Infrastructure Ontario

Additional Resources​

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The myth of Hitler's role in building the autobahn​


Many people still believe that the Nazis invented the famous German autobahn, and that the construction work helped eradicate mass unemployment in Germany. But this is a historical fiction.

From link.

Adolf Hitler takes a spade and sticks it firmly into a heap of sand. One of the soldiers standing around him photographs the Führer, documenting the start of work on another stretch of the famous German autobahn. The image, typical of its time, was circulated nationwide, especially in the regions where little stretches of the "Reichsautobahn" were being built.

The sole aim of all this carefully manufactured propaganda was to make sure that citizens throughout the Reich knew that the building work was going on. Whenever construction started on a new section the event was always meticulously documented and publicized, and big inaugural celebrations marked the opening of every stretch of road.
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Hitler makes the autobahn his own

This was quite a turnaround. Only a few years earlier, many members of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) - the Nazis - collaborated with the German Communist Party in sabotaging the construction of ‘car-only roads', as these concrete runways were initially called. The Nazis' argument was that the roads would "only benefit rich aristocrats and Jewish big capitalists and their interests." The Nazis stayed well clear of the political negotiations on financing the motorways. It was only when Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 that the Nazis realized they could use the autobahn for their own ends.
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Until 1929, the economic crisis and the lack of capital meant that it was impossible to build motorways in Germany. The country was struggling with mass unemployment, hyper-inflation and the payment of reparations for the First World War. It was the mayor of Cologne, Konrad Adenauer, who managed to finance and construct the first crossroads-free motorway in 1932 - now the A555 between Cologne and Bonn. The road was 20 kilometers long, and the speed limit was 120 kilometers per hour, though at the time most cars could only manage 60. The Cologne region was said to have the highest volume of traffic in the country. Shortly afterwards, however, the Nazis came to power, and the motorway had only been open a few months when it was downgraded to the status of "country road". The Nazis decided they wanted to take the credit for building the first autobahn.

Yet as early as 1909 a group of automobile enthusiasts, consisting of wealthy industrialists and influential citizens, had already formed a pressure group for the building of a road that would enable cars to drive without interruption - unimpeded by dust or mud, or by horse carriages or pedestrians blocking the way. Work began in 1913 on the so-called "Automobile Traffic and Practice Road" on the outskirts of Berlin. The intention was to construct a 17-kilometer stretch, but in the end the city could only afford to build 10 kilometers. Construction was interrupted by the First World War, and after 1921 the road was mainly used for testing fast sports cars and for motor sports races.

An association was founded in 1926 to push for a transnational road linking Hamburg with Basel in Switzerland via Frankfurt am Main. The Nazis initially rejected the so-called "HaFraBa" initiative. However, after Hitler came to power they appropriated elements of the plan, and the name of the association was changed to the "Association for the Preparation of Reichsautobahns."
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Increasing people's mobility

Historians now say that Adolf Hitler simply jumped on the bandwagon of increasing mobility that was already gathering momentum across the world. He certainly recognized the potential for securing his own power and seducing an entire nation with what looked at first like a crazy enterprise. At the time, it seemed clear that very few Germans would be able to afford their own car in order to drive on the new motorways. So Nazi propaganda promised the people full mobility. The idea was to enable everybody to travel - not just the rich. This was how the idea of the Volkswagen - the "people's car" - was born. Hitler also made the German national rail company introduce omnibus transport on the first sections of the new autobahns.

The goal was to complete some 1000 kilometers of autobahn every year. These were the Führer's orders. In 1934, he spoke of the "work battle" that lay ahead, and promised that it would reduce the high number of unemployed. Autobahn construction works were supposed to create at least 600,000 jobs. In fact, even when construction was at its height there were never more than 120,000 people at work. The construction itself was marked by sickness, death, hunger and misery. There were strikes, and the strike leaders were sent to concentration camps. The public, of course, were told none of this.
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The autobahn myth

Over the years, an increasing number of Germans found jobs in the booming arms industry. That was what reduced unemployment - not the autobahn construction. During the war years, more and more prisoners and Jewish forced laborers were sent to work in autobahn construction because the regular workers were fighting in the war. By 1941, a mere 3,800 kilometers of autobahn had been completed - half the projected amount. Between 1941 and 1942, construction almost ground to a halt. From 1943 onwards, the autobahns were opened up to cyclists because of the low volume of vehicle traffic..

Yet the Nazis continued to circulate films and photos of workers on autobahn building sites, long after work itself had stopped. This is why the image of colonies of autobahn workersis ingrained in the memories of an entire generation. The Nazis were successful in propagating their image as creators of the German autobahn: it's a myth that often still requires debunking today.
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