(Redirected from 400-Series Highways)
The current 400-series Highway network in Southern Ontario.
The '400-series highways' are a network of controlled-access
freeways throughout the southern portion of the province of
Ontario,
Canada, forming a special subset of the
provincial highway system. They function similarly to the
Interstate Highway network in the
United States or the
Autoroute system in the province of
Quebec. Modern 400-series highways have high design standards,
speed limits of 100 km/h (62.5 mph), and various collision avoidance and traffic management systems. 400-series highway design has set the precedent for a number of innovations used throughout North America, including the
Parclo interchange.
400-series network
For their entire length, 400-series highways are intended to be completely
controlled-access and divided, with a minimum of four lanes. Although the 400-series freeways currently form a network around
Highway 401 and the
QEW, this has not always been the case (such as
Highway 417 until 1999) and being part of a network is not a requirement as it has been for US Interstates. Like the
Quebec Autoroute system, 400-series highways have been expanding slowly because they did not benefit from regular federal funding.
The province also maintains freeways which are up to 400-series standards, yet are not numbered as part of the 400-series network. This is despite some of those freeways exceeding existing 400-series highways in size and traffic volume and despite some of them being connected to the 400-series network. Nonetheless, Ontario freeways do not receive a 400-series number unless they are designed to be complete controlled-access freeways for their whole length. While at-grade intersections still exist on Highways
400 and
406, planning/construction is underway to upgrade them to full freeway standards. The non 400-series routes listed below have significant open-access portions besides the freeway section, with the freeway segment typically being a small section not at the route's termini.
Most prominent is the
Conestoga Parkway in Kitchener-Waterloo, which is numbered in 3 sections; Highway 7/8, Highway 7, and Highway 85, and the Highway 8 ''Freeport Diversion'' between
Highway 401 and the Conestoga. The
E.C. Row Expressway in
Windsor,
Ontario was numbered as part of
Highway 2 before the freeway was downloaded to municipal authorities in 1998. Other examples of non 400-series numbered freeways in the provincial inventory are at
Thorold (
Highway 58),
Peterborough to Enterprise Hill (
Highway 115),
North Bay and southward (
Highway 11) and
Sudbury (
Highway 17, though it is possible that the long-term expansion of Highway 417 could incorporate that freeway section of Highway 17).
400-series numbering
The "400-Series" numbers were first introduced in 1952 to designate the province's controlled-access highways. The "4" was intended to reflect that these were four-lane roads, although portions of these highways subsequently exceeded four lanes.
Although the
Queen Elizabeth Way has no posted highway number, it is considered to be part of the 400-series highway network. In fact, the QEW was the first of the controlled-access highways to be constructed. The
Ontario Ministry of
Transportation designates the QEW as Highway 451 for internal purposes; this designation never appears on maps or highway signs.
400-series highways receive numbers one of two ways. The original method was sequential numbering starting at 400 and working up to 409. The first three 400-series highways numbered accordingly were
Highway 400,
Highway 401 and
Highway 402 — originally known as the
Barrie-
Toronto Highway, Highway 2A and the
Blue Water Bridge Approach. Since then, additional highways have been constructed using sequential numbering from 403 to 409. Although there were plans for a Highway 408 it was never constructed. It is speculated that the new
Mid-Peninsula Highway bypass of the
Queen Elizabeth Way will receive the designation 408.
Highway 407 (now 407 ETR) received its designation in the 1960s when it was planned and land was acquired for it, although construction did not start until 1987.
The later method of 400-series numbering after 1970 was to assign a 400 designation to an upgrade or bypass of an existing highway. For example, part of Highway 427 was the original routing of Highway 27 between the QEW and Highway 401 prior to being upgraded to a freeway, while 427 is a bypass of 27 north of 401. Highway 416 and 417 were the original routings of Highway 16 and 17 respectively, in eastern Ontario. Note that in order to qualify for 400-series numbering, the freeway upgrade starts at the terminus of the existing route. If the freeway upgrade is in the middle (not at the termini), then the route retains its original number unless one of the open-access termini is decommissioned. Sometimes the highway is not necessarily an upgrade of the existing route. Highway 410 and 420 were both freeway bypasses of Highway 10 and Highway 20. Highway 424, once constructed, will be a freeway bypass of Highway 24.
The province's baseline standard for the construction of a 400-series highway (or any controlled-access freeway, whether numbered as a 400-series or not) is an average traffic count of 10,000 vehicles per day. However, other factors are considered as well. To promote economic development in a disadvantaged region (e.g. current construction extending Highway 400 to
Northern Ontario), a 400-series highway may be built where the existing highway's traffic counts fall below 10,000. As well, for environmental, budgetary or community reasons, some proposed 400-series highways have ''not'' been built even where an existing highway's traffic counts exceed the standard. A good example includes the cancelled Highway 400 extension from 401 to the
Gardiner Expressway in the 1960s (a portion was revived as the
Black Creek Drive expressway in 1982, which was built by the province and then immediately downloaded to the city).
Highway 401 is spoken as "four-oh-one" and
Highway 427 is spoken as "four-twenty-seven".
Highway 400 is pronounced "four-hundred".
400 Series-Freeway pavement compared to USA Interstate Highway standards
400 series freeways show many similar design aspects to the USA Interstate Highway system. One major difference between USA and Canadian highways are the pavement surfaces. While the USA defaults to using concrete as a wearing surface, Ontario defaults to asphalt as a wearing surface.
The majority of all 400 series highways are coated with asphalt pavement, though some sections are receiving concrete pavement, such as Highway 401 from Windsor to Tilbury. 400 series highway bridge decks are also covered with asphalt, with concrete only exposed around the expansion joints, unlike the USA where most bridge decks are exposed concrete with tining (grooves) to add traction in wet weather. The only exception to exposed concrete paving on the 400 series freeways is the 406, 407 ETR and 427, which all have significant portions built in exposed concrete. Even though these highways are exposed concrete, the bridge decks still have a coating of asphalt.
The reasoning behind Ontario's large use of asphalt is based on this explanation from Alfred Ho, at the Ontario MTO (Ministry of Transportation) website:
Asset durability has always been one of our prime concerns in management of bridges and other long term assets.
For our Canadian harsh winters with ice and snow on our highway, we use de-icing salt, and a lot of it.
Although it is good for the travelling motorists who can have a better grip for the road, it does terrible damage to the concrete components of our highways system;
In particular bridges where the embedded reinforcing steel would corrode and rust.
To protect the steel from the ingress of chloride ions from the salt solution, we placed a layer of rubberized asphalt waterproofing on all of our bridge decks.
And to protect this waterproofing, 2 lifts of asphalt are placed on the bridges.
We have good corrosion protection results over the years; and we have confirm the results with studies.
Again thanks for you interest, and you are most welcomed to visit and use our highway system first hand.
Alfred Ho
Alfred Ho, P.Eng., MBA
MTO Central Region
Conversely, Alfred's email can be argued from a recent e mail shown below from an Illinois Department of Transportation engineer who disputed the Canadian way of paving bridge decks:
Asphalt bridge surfaces observed in Ontario incorporate the philosophy of a wearing surface. The intention is to periodically replace this relatively inexpensive thickness of asphalt before deterioration to prevent exposure of the more cost-intensive concrete deck, superstructure, and substructure portions of the bridge to the damaging effects of the environment and vehicular traffic.
As logical as this philosophy may appear, a few drawbacks do exist.
1. Wearing surfaces can range between two and four inches in thickness, creating additional weight the structure is required to support. This in turn increases the overall design of a structure, translating into additional expense.
2. The wearing surface will be less durable than the concrete bridge deck, requiring more frequent repairs and maintenance. Routine schedules for replacement of the sacrificial layer require strict adherence as delays can invalidate decades of careful planning. Interruptions to free-flow traffic with more frequent work-zones also has a negative overall impact on level of service, translating into lost productivity time as the public are subjected to increased periods of congestion.
3. No guarantees are available even if maintenance schedules are followed with rigid discipline. IDOT is committed to ensuring the roads are clear and safe regardless of weather conditions, translating into a large quantity of salt use for ice prevention. This practice has a negative effect on the life-expectancy of the infrastructure as corrosion becomes more prevalent. ''
(As shown above, Ontario MTO and Illinois DOT engineers have many factors to consider when it comes to pavement in dealing with snow, ice and salt in the very similar climates of Toronto and Chicago. This explanation can be proved first hand from any drive within the Greater Toronto Area or Chicago area. The majority of bridge decks and pavement in Toronto (Canada) are asphalt while in the Chicago (USA) area, most highways are continuous concrete highway/bridge deck or combo asphalt pavement/concrete bridge deck arrangement.)
Standards for 400-series highways
Here is a list of highway construction standards required. These are similar to standards for other controlled-access highways systems such as the
AASHTO Interstate Highway standards.
★ At least two lanes in each direction.
★ If
HOV lanes are used, they must be separated from general traffic with a stripped buffer zone and full shoulder.
★ Opposing direction is to be separated by grass median or "Ontario tall-wall" concrete barrier.
★ 100% grade separated crossings
★ A design speed of at least 130 km/h (80 mph), although the posted speed on signs is 100 km/h - exceptions can be made for urban areas where a 130 km/h design speed cannot be realistically implemented such as Highway 403 through Hamilton (90 km/h) and Highway 406 through downtown St. Catharines (80 km/h).
★ Unless there are land space constraints, 4-way junctions should be a
parclo interchange when it meets with a surface road.
★ There is no standard for freeway-to-freeway junction as it depends upon traffic volumes, only that there must not be any traffic weaving when merging onto each road. This makes interchanges such as the
cloverleaf not up to 400-series standard.
★ Advanced warning signage for junctions at 2 km (1.2 miles), 1 km (0.6 miles) and 500m (1650 ft) before the junction
★ Right-hand side on-ramps and off-ramps. Exceptions to this rule do exist, however.
★ Acceleration/deceleration lanes from interchanges must be at least 150 meters long to allow for smooth speed increase/decrease and traffic merging, unless there are land space constraints.
★ Full-width left and right paved shoulders
★
Rumble strips on each side of the carriageway
★ Standard 400-series highway signage, uniform across the entire system.
★ Road-side advertisements (e.g.
billboards) are banned from the right-of-way of 400-series highways. The province has has also obtained court orders forcing the removal of advertising signs that are outside of the highway right-of-way, but adjacent to and still visible from, a 400-series highway (such as along nearby farms close to the freeway). This ban exists to prevent driver distraction.
★ Standard directional signage is white-on-green, with
collector lanes using white-on-blue to distinguish between mainline (express) and collector signage.
★ Based on the precedent set by
Highway 407 ETR, any future toll roads constructed will also need to have white-on-blue signage.
★ Separated
high-occupancy vehicle lanes use black-on-white signage with a diamond logo in the upper left-hand corner.
★ A 400 meter or longer "weave lane" is required for transitions to/from
HOV lanes across the buffer zone to allow for safe mergers.
★ Service/attraction signage is white-on-blue, though older brown-on-white signs still exist.
★ Caution signage is black-on-yellow.
★ Construction (temporary conditions) signage is black-on-orange
★ Square lane deviation signs, notifying drivers approximately 1 km prior to their lane leaving the highway. These signs are unique to Ontario.
Many 400-series highways have also recently had gates installed at entrance ramps, along with special gated ramps located near overpasses, allowing access to the highway to be easily closed in case of emergency or road work. In some cases, different standards applied at the time of construction and have been grandfathered to the system. This is most prominent on
Highway 400,
Highway 401, and the
Queen Elizabeth Way, whose low standard sections are only upgraded when growing traffic conditions warrant a major reconstruction. Although some highways receive a 400-series number right away, they are not built to 400-series standards until construction of the highway is completed.
List of 400-series highways
There are 15 different 400-series highways (including the QEW) creating a transportation backbone across the southern portion of the province. Plans are currently underway to extend the existing network into Northern Ontario as well as add new routes into the system.
Highway 400
Map
★ 229
km in length (extensions planned northward to
Sudbury); actual highway 209 km in length - 2nd longest 400-series highway.
★ Year: 1952 (known as the ''Barrie-Toronto Highway'' prior to 1952)
★ Southern terminus: Maple Leaf Drive overpass in
Toronto
★ Northern terminus: Bowes Street/McDougall Drive in
Parry Sound, where it continues as
Highway 69
★
★ Planned northern terminus:
Highway 17 in the southeast part of
Greater Sudbury
★ As of October 2003, Highway 400 runs from
Toronto to
Parry Sound. There is currently an 8 km (5 mile) gap at the
Wahta Mohawk Territory where this highway is only two lanes, rather than four; however, as the four-lane construction is expected to be completed in 2007, the Highway 400 designation has already been extended through this segment. There is also an approximately 20 km stretch, from Horseshoe Lake to the terminus at Parry Sound, where the highway bears the dual designation 400/69. At the Parry Sound terminus of Highway 400, the four lanes simply merge into two and continue northward as Highway 69. Continued construction along the Highway 69 corridor will eventually extend Highway 400 to Sudbury in Northern Ontario. Although this may be subject to change, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation currently plans to have this construction completed by 2017.
★ Highway 400 is Toronto's main freeway link to
York Region,
Barrie and
Muskoka.
Highway 401
Highway 401 was completed just west of Brockville in 1968
★ Named the 'Macdonald-Cartier Freeway' for its entire length in 1965
★ Named the 'Highway of Heroes' for its length between
Toronto and
Trenton in honor of Canada's fallen soldiers in Afghanistan in 2007.
[1] [2]
★ 817.9 km (508 miles) in length - the longest 400-series highway
★ Year: 1952 (known as Highway 2A prior to 1952)
★ Western terminus: Highway 3 in
Windsor
★
★ Planned Western terminus: A new international bridge crossing into
Downriver Michigan.
★ Eastern terminus:
Quebec Border (
Autoroute 20)
★ Highway 401 runs from
Windsor to the
Quebec border. Highway 401 is the backbone of the 400-Series network running across the entire length of Southern and Eastern Ontario. The unique Macdonald-Cartier Freeway signage has been slowly disappearing over the past 10 years.
★ Highway 401 has volumes of over 500,000 per day in some areas of
Toronto, making it the current record holder as the busiest
highway in the world.
[3]
Highway 402
Blue Water Bridge
★ 102.5 km (64 miles) in length
★ Year: 1952 (known as the
Blue Water Bridge Approach prior to 1952)
★ Western terminus: Blue Water Bridge in
Point Edward
★ Eastern terminus: Highway 401 in
London
★ Highway 402 starts at the Blue Water Bridge in Point Edward (a small village located inside
Sarnia) and runs 102 km to end at Highway 401 in London. The 402 connects Interstates
69 and
94 in
Michigan with the 401 in Ontario.
★ Initially, Highway 402 terminated at Highway 40, and commuters continued east to London via Highway 7. In 1972-1982, Highway 402 was extended to meet up with Highway 401.
Highway 403
Map
★ Known as the 'Chedoke Expressway' through
Hamilton.
Citation needed. I lived there 5 years and never heard or saw a sign with that name
★ 112.4 km (70 miles) in length, of which 23 km (14.3 miles) of which are concurrently signed with the Queen Elizabeth Way (400-series co-signing is rare)
★ Year: 1963
★ Western terminus: Highway 401 in
Woodstock
★ Eastern terminus: Highway 401 in
Mississauga
★ Highway 403 is one of two freeways with a dedicated High Occupancy Vehicle Lane patrolled 24/7 (
Highway 401 to
Highway 407)
★ Highway 403 forms a loop that runs from the Highway 401 in Woodstock back to the junction of Highway 401 and Highway 410 in Mississauga. It passes through
Brantford,
Hamilton, and Mississauga. Land that was originally planned to be used for the 403 through
Burlington and
Oakville was leased to the owners of Highway 407 in the mid-1990s, making a 23 km gap between the two sections permanent. In 2002 the Ministry of Transportation co-signed the section of QEW between Burlington and Mississauga together with Highway 403.
★ The Mississauga portion of Highway 403 was intended to be redesignated as part of
Highway 410 (which continues it northwards after the major interchange with
Highway 401) after it was decided that the Mississauga-Hamilton gap would be built as the toll
Highway 407 instead of being a 403 extension. However, the Ministry of Transportation later rejected the idea, as it was decided that it might confuse some people accustomed to the original number which had been in use since 1982.
★ Highway 403 has been assigned exit numbers in recent years from Woodstock to Brantford, with the remainder of the highway to have its exits numbered in the near future.
Highway 404
Map
★ 36.8 km (22.9 miles) in length (extensions planned northward)
★ Year: 1977 (known as the extension of the ''
Don Valley Parkway'' prior to 1977)
★ Southern terminus: Highway 401 in
Toronto
★ Northern terminus: Herald Road/Green Lane in
East Gwillimbury
★ Highway 404 is 1 of 2 highways with a dedicated 24/7 High Occupancy Vehicle Lane (
Highway 7 to
Highway 401/Don Valley Parkway Southbound Only) and is the only one with a dedicated HOV off-ramp (
Highway 401 Westbound)
★ Highway 404 runs from north from the junction of Highway 401 and the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto and ends currently in Newmarket, with eventual plans to extend it to the northern side of
Lake Simcoe. Highway 404 is the second north-south freeway in
York Region and connects the northeastern
suburbs and into Toronto as the
Don Valley Parkway. Highway 404 is expected to be extended to
Keswick around 2010, at York Regional Road 32, Ravenshoe Road. Further extension to
Highway 12 in
Pefferlaw is planned.
Highway 405
Map
★ Named the 'General Brock Parkway' for its entire length in 2006
★ 8.5 km (5.3 miles) in length
★ Year: 1963
★ Western terminus: Queen Elizabeth Way west of Niagara Falls
★ Eastern terminus:
Lewiston-Queenston Bridge with the
United States
★ Highway 405 serves as a connector from the Queen Elizabeth Way to the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge in
Queenston. Though a short spur route, it is still considered a major highway connecting the main trunk highway to Toronto (the QEW) with
Interstate 190 outside of
Niagara Falls,
New York.
Highway 406
Map
★ 25 km (15.5 miles) in length (extensions planned southward)
★ Year: 1965
★ Southern terminus: East Main Street (Highway 7146) in
Welland
★
★ Planned southern terminus: Mid-Peninsula Highway (probable Highway 408) connection near
Port Colborne
★ Northern terminus: Queen Elizabeth Way in
St. Catharines
★ Highway 406 serves as a north-south route from the Queen Elizabeth Way through
downtown St. Catharines and into central Niagara. It is the last remaining 400-Series highway under Ministry of Transportation jurisdiction with two-lane non-freeway sections, located between
Thorold and Welland. Extending the four-lane freeway south of the former
Highway 20 will start in 2006. Plans to extend the route further south to the
Mid-Peninsula Highway have been voiced, although the status of the project is uncertain in the face of continuous delays in the Mid-Peninsula project.
Highway 407
407 via 404
★ 108 km (67 miles) in length (extensions planned)
★ Year: 1997 (although 407 received its designation in the 1960s)
★ Western terminus: Junction of Highway 403 and the Queen Elizabeth Way in
Burlington
★ Eastern terminus: Highway 7 near Brock Road in
Pickering
★
★ Planned eastern terminus:
Highway 35/115 at Enterprise Hill, or junction of Highway 7 and Lansdowne Street in
Peterborough
★ Highway 407 forms a northern bypass for Highway 401 and the Queen Elizabeth Way through the
Greater Toronto Area. It is Ontario's only toll highway. Owned by
Cintra, a private corporation, it is not officially considered part of the ''King's Highway'' system, however it was originally designed to be a part of the provincial highway network. Highway 407 received its designation in the 1960s but due to the success of the Highway 401 widening, construction did not start until 1987. The reason for the privatization of Highway 407 is that the Ontario Government started running low on funds set aside for the project so they looked for corporate assistance. Highway 407 was also the first highway to use electronic toll collection exclusively for its entire length. An easterly extension to
Highways 35/115 between
Peterborough and
Clarington has been suggested, however, this phase is in the planning stages.
Highway 409
Map
★ Formerly known as the 'Belfield Expressway'
★ 4.4 km (2.7 miles) in length
★ Year: 1975
★ Western terminus: Airport Road in
Mississauga
★ Eastern terminus: Highway 401 in
Toronto
★ Highway 409 is a short connector route from the 401 to
Toronto Pearson International Airport. A short section of Highway 409 between Airport Road and Highway 427 in Mississauga was sold to the
Greater Toronto Airport Authority in 1999 and is now under their jurisdiction.
Highway 410
Map
★ 13.5 km (8.4 miles) in length (extensions planned and under construction northward, will be 21 km long when the current construction is completed)
★ Year: 1979
★ Southern terminus: Highway 401 in
Mississauga
★ Northern terminus: Bovaird Drive (Highway 7) in
Brampton
★ Highway 410 runs from the junction of Highway 401 and Highway 403 in Mississauga through Northern
Mississauga and
Brampton, with eventual plans to extend it as far north as
Orangeville or
Owen Sound. Construction of a short extension from Highway 7 to Highway 10 is currently under way. This highway does not use exit numbers, although it likely will in the future when extended farther.
Highway 416
Map
Highway 416 - Veterans Memorial Highway
★ Known as the 'Veterans Memorial Highway' for its entire length
★ 75 km (46.6 miles) in length
★ Year: 1996–2000
★ Southern terminus: Highway 401 north of Johnstown and the
Prescott-
Ogdensburg Bridge
★ Northern terminus: Highway 417 in
Ottawa
★ Highway 416 runs from Highway 401 near Johnstown to Highway 417 near
Bells Corners in Ottawa. South of
Manotick-
North Gower, it follows the former routing Highway 16.
★ On the 54th anniversary of
D-Day,
June 6,
1999, Highway 416 was officially dedicated as the Veterans Memorial Highway. It is the newest 400-Series highway to be built and owned by the Ministry of Transportation and is the main link (via the 401 and
I-81) between the US and Canada's National Capital Region. It was officially completed on
September 23,
1999.
Highway 417
Map
★ Part of the
Trans-Canada Highway
★ Known as the '
Queensway' through most of
Ottawa
★ 182 km (113 miles) in length (extensions planned westward)
★ Year: 1971
★ Eastern terminus:
Quebec border (
Autoroute 40)
★ Western terminus:
Arnprior where it continues as
Highway 17
Trans-Canada Highway/417
★ Highway 417 is the main freeway through the National Capital Region and Eastern Ontario along the
Quebec border. Construction of a 17
km extension to Arnprior was completed on
September 24,
2004. Eventually the Ministry of Transportation hopes to extend the 417 through the Ottawa Valley; however, there is no definite timeline set for this construction. (There is a new 29-km stretch of 4-lane Highway 17 freeway under construction east of Sault Ste. Marie that is scheduled to open in 2008, and likely to have exit numbers in the 900s should it ever be connected, and an existing freeway segment in
Greater Sudbury.) Unlike most other east-west highways in Ontario, the 417 begins its mileage logs at the eastern terminus rather than the west.
★
Mile By Mile: Highway 417 - Trans Canada Highway Quebec / Ontario Border to City of Ottawa
Highway 420
Map
★ 3.8 km (2.4 miles) in length (extensions planned westward)
★ Year: 1972 (known as the Queen Elizabeth Way prior to 1972)
★ Western terminus: Queen Elizabeth Way in
Niagara Falls
★
★ Planned western terminus: Highway 406 at
St. Catharines/
Thorold
★ Eastern terminus: Stanley Ave in
Niagara Falls, where it continues to the
Rainbow Bridge as Regional Road 420.
★ This short freeway connects the QEW to the tourist district in Niagara Falls. The Highway 420 designation used to continue for nearly 800 meters east of Stanley Ave, and this section was just a regular four-lane city street known as Roberts Street. Though this section of highway was once considered part of the 420, it was transferred to the City of Niagara Falls in 2000, and is now known as Regional Road 420. In the medium term, the Ministry of Transportation hopes to extend the 420 west past Montrose Road to meet up with
Highway 58 and the
Thorold Tunnel. However, progress has been stalled due to the uncertainty of the proposed
Mid-Peninsula Bypass.
Highway 427
Map
★ Formerly known as the 'Airport Expressway' between
Highway 401 and
Highway 409.
★ 21.3 km (13.3 miles) in length (extensions planned northward)
★ Year: 1972 (known as Highway 27 between the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 401 and as the Airport Expressway between Highway 401 and Highway 409 prior to 1972)
★ Southern terminus: Evans Ave in
Toronto
★ Northern terminus: Highway 7 in
Vaughan
★
★ Planned northern terminus: Highway 400 north of
Barrie
★ Highway 427 came into existence by designating the already-freeway portions of Highway 27 and the Airport Expressway as a 400-series highway. It serves the heavy-travelled area between the Queen Elizabeth Way and
Gardiner Expressway in the south and Highway 407 in the north. Highway 427 has heavy traffic volumes and is no less than 12 lanes between the Queen Elizabeth Way/Gardiner Expressway and Highway 401. The Ministry of Transportation plans on extending Highway 427 to at least Highway 400 north of at least
Highway 89, and eventually into the Barrie area.
Queen Elizabeth Way
Map
★ 139 km (86 miles) in length
★ Year: 1939
★ Fort Erie terminus:
Peace Bridge in
Fort Erie
★ Toronto terminus: Highway 427 in
Toronto, where it continues as the
Gardiner Expressway
★ The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is one of
North America's oldest long-distance
superhighways. Due to several directional changes along the route the highway uses city names rather than
cardinal directions to direct motorists. The QEW is not referred to by a route number, unlike the other 400-Series highways, but it does have the internal designation of Highway 451 and is considered part of the 400-Series highway network. Unlike the Highway shields for other Highways which are white, the QEW's shield is gold.
Former 400-series highways
Due to government restructuring in 1997 and 1998 various sections of provincial highway were transferred over to local jurisdictions. While most of the highways transferred were local in nature, several large routes including freeways were transferred to local governments.
Highway 400A
★ Status: Now a section of Highway 11
★ Length: 1.1 km (0.7 miles) in Length
★ Year: 1960-1997
★ Western Terminus:
Highway 400 in
Barrie,
Ontario
★ Eastern Terminus:
Highway 11 in
Barrie,
Ontario
★ Highway 400A, though never signed, was a short spur connecting Highway 400 to the Highway 11
expressway northeast of
Barrie. It was initially part of Highway 400 until 1960 when a new section of Highway 400 opened, bypassing 1.1 km of freeway which was re-numbered Highway 400A. When Highway 11 south of Highway 400 was transferred to local control in 1997 the designation Highway 11 was officially applied to Highway 400A, eliminating it in its entirety.
★ Highway 400A was formerly the shortest 400-Series Highway and had no junctions located between its termini.
Highway 401A
:''For more details on this topic, see
Dougall Parkway.''
★ Status: Now Municipally-Maintained "Dougall Parkway"
★ Length: 3.0 km (2.0 miles) in Length
★ Year: 1952-1997
★ Western Terminus:
Highway 3B (Howard Avenue) in
Windsor,
Ontario
★ Eastern Terminus:
Highway 401 in
Windsor,
Ontario
★ Highway 401A was never signed, much like Highway 400A above. It was the original alignment of Highway 401, from 1952 until 1964, when it was re-routed to connect directly to
Highway 3. Many maps would show it and Highway 401, signed as both Highway 401 'and' Highway 3B, much to the confusion of map-readers, since the freeway would split into two directions. It was downloaded to the City of Windsor in 1997, and was in horrible shape. It has since been completely repaved, and a partial interchange was added at Sixth Concession Road to help improve access to and from South Windsor.
Although Highway 3B was decommissioned in 1975 (being downloaded to the City of Windsor), it maintained a "
Connecting Link", allowing road maps to still list it as Highway 3B, and for the city to receive some assistance in maintaining the road. This Connecting Link (found across the province as a small yellow square with "C/L" on a sign) was removed in 1997, making the requirement for Highway 401A extinct as a provincial highway.
Queen Elizabeth Way east of Highway 427
★ Status: Now a section of the
Gardiner Expressway
★ Length: 6 km (3.8 miles) in Length (total QEW length 145
km)
★ Year: 1939-1997
★ Western Terminus:
Highway 427 in
Toronto,
Ontario
★ Eastern Terminus:
Gardiner Expressway in
Toronto,
Ontario
★ This short section of Queen Elizabeth Way was transferred to the City of Toronto in 1997 as a cost savings measure by the Provincial Government. It has since been re-designated as a western extension of the Gardiner Expressway.
Future additions to the system
Planned future extensions and additions to the 400-series network.
There are several plans on the books to add new routes to the 400-series highway system to serve the growing population of motorists throughout
Ontario. Some of these new routes may be toll roads owned and operated in a similar fashion to
Highway 407. In addition, the long-term extension of
Highway 417 towards North Bay (and beyond), as well as construction of a staged freeway on the Highway 11 corridor, would likely absorb the existing freeway sections of Highway 11 and Highway 17 into 400-series highways.
Mid-Peninsula Highway
★ Designation not yet determined, speculated to become 'Highway 408'
★ Year: No firm dates have been established; timelines varying from 10 to 30 years until completion have been quoted.
★ Planned Western Terminus: Highway 407 in
Burlington, or Highway 401 near
Milton
★ Planned Eastern Terminus: Queen Elizabeth Way in
Fort Erie,
Ontario
★ The Mid-Peninsula Highway will serve as southern bypass of the Queen Elizabeth Way through the environmentally-sensitive
Niagara Peninsula. Current estimates indicate that the QEW will require five lanes of traffic per direction by 2012. Widening the highway to ten lanes through Ontario's Wine Country and Tender Fruitlands was not considered an acceptable option due to increasing development pressure. Instead, the Mid-Peninsula Highway was devised as a bypass of the QEW for traffic heading directly to Toronto and across the southern and central portions of the Niagara Peninsula. The Mid-Peninsula Highway will more than likely be a privately-owned toll road (it has been speculated that it will be built and run by the operators of Highway 407). It is a highly controversial project as it will likely run through tender agricultural areas and the
Niagara Escarpment as well, and many question the need of the highway. Some sections of the project may face cancellation, as some land owners have refused to sell land for the highway's construction.
Highway 424 (Brantford to Cambridge)
★ Officially designated as Highway 424
★ Year: 2010s
★ Planned Southern Terminus: Highway 403 in
Brantford, with the possibility of a further southward extension into
Norfolk County
★ Planned Northern Terminus: Highway 401 in
Cambridge
★ A new freeway alignment of Highway 24, to be called Highway 424, has been part of the Ministry of Transportation's plans for Brant County and Waterloo Region since the 1970s. Although constantly delayed, civic leaders in the region have recently begun to lobby the provincial government to begin construction of this route. In late March 2005, the provincial government announced that an environmental assessment has begun, and that construction should begin by the end of the decade.
Bradford Bypass
★ No designation determined at this time, but may receive a designation of 413, 414, 488, or simply be extensions of 404 and 427
★ Year: 2012
★ Planned Western Terminus: Highway 400 near
Bradford, or Highway 427 near Bond Head.
★ Planned Eastern Terminus: Highway 404 near Queensville
★ The Bradford Bypass will serve as a connector between Highways 400 and 404 on the extreme northern edge of the
Greater Toronto Area. Construction is expected to begin by the end of this decade.
407-401 Durham West Connector
★ Designation not yet determined, speculated to receive Highway 412
★ Year: Initial construction in the mid-2010s, to be finished no later than 2035.
★ Planned Southern Terminus: Highway 401 on the
Ajax/
Whitby border
★ Planned Northern Terminus: Highway 407, just east of the new
Pickering Airport
★ The 401/407 Durham West Connector will serve as a connector between Highway 401 and Highway 407 in the fast-growing western end of
Durham Region. Plans for this new freeway will see it located near Lake Ridge Road between Ajax and Whitby. There is no 401 interchange at Lake Ridge Road, but one is proposed to open there in the future. With the recent announcement of the development of
Pickering Airport, the Durham West Connector will play an even greater role in the area's transportation network.
407-401 Durham East Connector
★ Designation not yet determined.
★ Year: Initial construction in the mid-2010s, to be finished no later than 2035.
★ Planned Southern Terminus: Highway 401 in
Clarington, in the community of
Courtice
★ Planned Northern Terminus: Highway 407
★ The 401/407 Durham East Connector is a planned connector that will serve the east end of
Durham Region, including
Oshawa and Clarington. The alignment will be located east of Courtice Road in Clarington.
References
1. City News
2. CTV.ca
3. Ontario government investing 1 million to upgrade Highway 401 Ministry of Transportation (Ontario)
See also
Future extension and new highway projects (red) in Ontario, including the 400-series highways, non-400-series highways and municipal
highway plans.
★
List of Ontario expressways
★
List of Ontario provincial highways
★
100-Series Highways of Nova Scotia
★
Quebec Autoroutes
★ Cameron Bevers, ''The History of Ontario's Kings Highways'' at http://www.thekingshighway.ca/
★ Scott Steeves, ''www.ONTHIGHWAYS.com'' at http://www.onthighways.com/
External links
★
Ontario Ministry of Transportation
★
Database of Ontario Provincial Highways
★
VEHICLES ON CONTROLLED-ACCESS HIGHWAYS, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 630
★
History of Ontario's Highways
★
Photographs of Ontario Highways
★
Photographs and history on the 400-Series Highways (and other provincial highways, too)
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