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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion
- Thread starter Haljackey
- Start date
Mulder
Active Member
That's as per geometric design manual 120km/h design speed.
adma
Superstar
In tone, maybe; but not in the fundamental message.
(And ultimately, unless there's structural issues that suggest some imminent "Minneapolis I-35W" disaster in the offing or else some complete road reconfiguration a la the Humber Bay crossing, retention of the understructure seems prudent enough. And unlike those classic postwar "Ontario-shield" rigid-frame overpasses along the 400, these deck spans are no traffic bottleneck.)
DavidH
Senior Member
Indeed. Isn't having a subscription to Spacing magazine, which Micallef is a senior editor of, a requirement for membership here?
Wrenkin
Active Member
Indeed. Isn't having a subscription to Spacing magazine, which Micallef is a senior editor of, a requirement for membership here?
I hope not. I know who he is but can never manage to get through an issue on account of the writing.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
sounds like we could have couple new highways in the budget this spring...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ontarios-economic-plan-to-shift-focus-from-austerity-to-spending-and-growth/article15303331/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ontarios-economic-plan-to-shift-focus-from-austerity-to-spending-and-growth/article15303331/
waterloowarrior
Senior Member
Southern Ontario Highways 2013-2017 is out!
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pu...ern-highway-2013/southern-highway-en-2013.pdf
here is 2012 for comparison
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pu...uthern-highway-2012/southern-highway-2012.pdf
here are a few changes I noticed where the dates were more defined
-401 widening in London moved to beyond 2017
-401 in Hwy*8*to*Regional*Rd.*24*(Hespler*Rd.),*Cambridge for 2016
-401 Burnham*St.*to*east*of*Nagel*Rd.,*Cobourg* Four*to*six‐lane*widening 2016
-17* Planned* Arnprior*By‐Pass,*Campbell*Drive*to*Scheel*Drive**Phase*2*Two*to*four*and*five‐lane*widening*2016*
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pu...ern-highway-2013/southern-highway-en-2013.pdf
here is 2012 for comparison
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pu...uthern-highway-2012/southern-highway-2012.pdf
here are a few changes I noticed where the dates were more defined
-401 widening in London moved to beyond 2017
-401 in Hwy*8*to*Regional*Rd.*24*(Hespler*Rd.),*Cambridge for 2016
-401 Burnham*St.*to*east*of*Nagel*Rd.,*Cobourg* Four*to*six‐lane*widening 2016
-17* Planned* Arnprior*By‐Pass,*Campbell*Drive*to*Scheel*Drive**Phase*2*Two*to*four*and*five‐lane*widening*2016*
Kitsune
Senior Member
That tends to confirm what I've heard about the 17 four laning - once the EA's are done, its being pushed back 10-20 years so the province can focus on resurfacing and bridge rehabilitation instead.
I'm surprised to see that the 401 from Trenton to Belleville isn't on the list for highway widenings. Having driven that stretch fairly frequently, I can say that it's the busiest section of the 401 east of Toronto that's still 4 lanes.
middeljohn
New Member
It's frustrating how the freeway section south of London keeps getting ignored.
And 10 lanes through KW?! That's insane! Although somewhat justified.
nfitz
Superstar
The AADT from 2010 says that the highest 4-lane segment east of Toronto is a tie between Burnham Street and Highway 45 in Cobourg (that's now planned for completion of widening in 2016) and the bridge over the Trent River in Trenton (I believe the recent rehabilitation of that bridge included adding extra lanes that I assume they will open once the widened 401 reaches that far).
After that the next busiest stretch is from Highway 45 in Cobourg to the next interchange east. Between Trenton and Belleville is certainly not far behind though. I'd think that 4-laning will continue to Belleville and then to Kingston in small pieces - in the same manner it's been ongoing since the 1970s. Ultimately though, I can't seeing it go past the 416.
Haljackey
Active Member
The province wants to widen the entire 401 to 6 lanes eventually. I'd assume the section east of the 416 is the lowest priority, however.
Getting a third lane between Tilbury and London would certainly be an asset. The truck traffic there is insane. It sucks when they block both lanes (trucks passing other trucks). Trucks over 6.5m can't use the leftmost lane on most sections of the 400-series with three lanes or more in a direction.
A little sad that the work in London has been postponed yet again but I'd like to see the west side rebuilt soon. The weaving at the Highway 4 interchange is likely the worst in the province (if not the country) and the new overpass/interchange at Wonderland is more than warranted. Perhaps these will still be on track to start/finish in 2015/2016 with all the work done 'beyond 2017' (Highbury Expressway reconfiguration, bridge replacements at Westminster overpass and Pond Mills and CNR underpasses, VMP expansion, 8 lane widening from Wellington to Highbury).
Regarding 10 lanes between Highway 8 and 24, it's certainly warranted. Roughly half the 401's volume leaves/enters at the Highway 8 interchange so seeing two dedicated entrance/exit lanes will certainly help. Seeing them pushed all the way to 24 will be good too but this junction doesn't need 2 dedicated exit/entrance lanes right now. Perhaps once the 401 is 8 or 10 laned to Milton only one of them will become a through lane.
It is incredibly crazy just how much this province relies on one highway. The 401 is truly the backbone of Ontario's road infrastructure.
Getting a third lane between Tilbury and London would certainly be an asset. The truck traffic there is insane. It sucks when they block both lanes (trucks passing other trucks). Trucks over 6.5m can't use the leftmost lane on most sections of the 400-series with three lanes or more in a direction.
A little sad that the work in London has been postponed yet again but I'd like to see the west side rebuilt soon. The weaving at the Highway 4 interchange is likely the worst in the province (if not the country) and the new overpass/interchange at Wonderland is more than warranted. Perhaps these will still be on track to start/finish in 2015/2016 with all the work done 'beyond 2017' (Highbury Expressway reconfiguration, bridge replacements at Westminster overpass and Pond Mills and CNR underpasses, VMP expansion, 8 lane widening from Wellington to Highbury).
Regarding 10 lanes between Highway 8 and 24, it's certainly warranted. Roughly half the 401's volume leaves/enters at the Highway 8 interchange so seeing two dedicated entrance/exit lanes will certainly help. Seeing them pushed all the way to 24 will be good too but this junction doesn't need 2 dedicated exit/entrance lanes right now. Perhaps once the 401 is 8 or 10 laned to Milton only one of them will become a through lane.
It is incredibly crazy just how much this province relies on one highway. The 401 is truly the backbone of Ontario's road infrastructure.
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Duke-of-East-York
New Member
Sometimes when driving between the 416 and Kingston at night, the 401 in that stretch is so dead, I use my high-beams without coming across any vehicles for kilometres...
Kitsune
Senior Member
Ah don't worry - Calgary has the country beat with its 150m weave zones on multiple portions of its expressways... and these were just built over the past few years.
Haljackey
Active Member
Geesh that sucks for Calgary. Who designed those?
Out of curiosity, I checked out the weave space on the 401/4 interchange.
Roughly 100m weave space on 401 WB. (Broken lane markings.)
Interestingly enough, 401 EB is roughly 130m, likely due to the interchange orientation being 'looser' on this side.
Out of curiosity, I checked out the weave space on the 401/4 interchange.
Roughly 100m weave space on 401 WB. (Broken lane markings.)
Interestingly enough, 401 EB is roughly 130m, likely due to the interchange orientation being 'looser' on this side.
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