The 401

[north 42]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

The next phase is going to be on the London end, extending 6-lanes down about 20kms to Union Road. It's waiting for the Highway 4 work to approach completion before starting, IIRC.

Ultimately the 6-laning of the 401 between London and Tilbury isn't really needed from a capacity standpoint and is more politically driven, so I'm not particularly upset by it's slow moving.

I suspect that once the Gordi Howe is completed, the 401 in that stretch will get a fair amount busier with extra truck traffic coming from 402. I’ve heard that a lot of trucks that used the crossing in Sarnia will more than likely use the new Windsor crossing now that issues with Ambassador Bridge will matter less.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

The next phase is going to be on the London end, extending 6-lanes down about 20kms to Union Road. It's waiting for the Highway 4 work to approach completion before starting, IIRC.

Ultimately the 6-laning of the 401 between London and Tilbury isn't really needed from a capacity standpoint and is more politically driven, so I'm not particularly upset by it's slow moving.

That will require the new interchange at Wonderland and the 401 to be rebuilt. Seems kinda short sided they didn't build a wider overpass when it was initially built. While some work was done to rough in the embankments, its still going to require some decent work (more girders).

Maybe when this is done there will be a direct Wonderland SB to 401 WB ramp. That's the most in-use connection and right now you need to turn left (unsiginalized) and use the loop before getting on. Would be much safer and more efficient to use a direct connection

Regarding the safety concern, a signal was added for exiting traffic on 401 EB so it's a bit safer for traffic wanting to use Wonderland NB.



https://www.google.com/maps/@42.8752975,..._ep=EgoyMDI1MDUwMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

[sonysnob]

The only thing that seems to be ongoing in the Chatham area is a potential service road realignment in the southwestern quadrant of the Bloomfield Road interchange.

The MTO plans to replace the existing (pretty substandard) interchange at Bloomfield with a more conventional parclo. To do so, several properties need to be purchased and the service road to the south of the 401 needs to be realigned.

It looks like one of the properties has recently been vacated, and I saw a bunch of survey stakes in a field following what looked to be the proposed realignment of the service road (Seventh Line West). Maybe if they realign the service road this summer, they'll be in a position to start work at Bloomfield next summer.

And yes, there was a cop patrolling the 401 in Chatham-Kent when I drove back to Toronto today.

[Djeffery]

Heard from one of my KW co-workers today that the 401 westbound has opened a new lane or 2 through the highway 8 interchange that alleviate a lot of the rush hour pinch point at the top of the hill. Haven't been through myself so I don't know exactly what the configuration is now. Sonysnob likely was through and can confirm.

[sonysnob]

I took the 403 back today, so I didn't notice. The third land wasn't open when I drove through on Monday.

One of the things that I did notice is that contractors have placed a temporary concrete barrier wall to block off the inside westbound lane, which won't be opened until the 401 is widened west of Highway 8. Temporary barrier walls such as this are pretty common place, but this one appeared to have been poured in place. So it doesn't seem like the Ministry has any immediate plans to widen the 401 again. That, or it was just cheaper to build a wall in situ that it was to truck one in.

[sonysnob]

Easterly view along Highway 401 from the Essex Road 42 (Highway 2) overpass:


https://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_401_images/401_cl_56_east_May25_42x28.jpg

[MolsonExport]

Clear sailing.

[Loco101]

Will there ever be a proper connection ramp from Hwy 8 Southbound to Hwy 401 Westbound? I remember it being proposed in the 2000s and yet it hasn't happened with all the construction and widening of the 401.

[sonysnob]

Eastbound view from the Dixie Road overpass over the 401 in Mississauga:


https://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_401_images/401_cl_346_east_EB_Oct24_42x28.jpg

[MolsonExport]

Asphalt planet indeed!

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

Eastbound view from the Dixie Road overpass over the 401 in Mississauga:

Welcome to Toronto.

When I was a kid going into big cities, I was always a little confused why other highways didn't widen up like this getting into town. We would take road trips to places like Myrtle Beach and I was always disappointed at how tiny the highways were since I was expecting 401-scales.

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Will there ever be a proper connection ramp from Hwy 8 Southbound to Hwy 401 Westbound? I remember it being proposed in the 2000s and yet it hasn't happened with all the construction and widening of the 401.

There is still a plan to construct the missing ramps between Highway 8 and the 401. The bridge work over the Grand River has space on the westbound lane for the acceleration lanes from the southbound->westbound ramp, and the new subdivision constructed to the south of the 401 was set back in advance of the future eastbound->northbound ramp.

Construction of the new ramps still doesn't have a firm construction timeline in any of the MTOs plans at this point however.

[Innsertnamehere]

the subdivision caused MTO to do a study on the connection to make sure they appropriately protected the land for it, as well as built the space for it on the grand river bridge replacements.

I don't believe they plan to actually build it any time soon.

MTO's pace of expansion contracts has been just painfully slow lately though. Barely any are going out to construction, it seems.

[sonysnob]

View looking west from the Rougemont Road overpass from Pickering into Scarborough:


https://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_401_images/401_cl_393_west_EB_May25_42x28.jpg

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

MTO's pace of expansion contracts has been just painfully slow lately though. Barely any are going out to construction, it seems.

Yet Douggie says we're under the largest infrastructure investment in the province's history. I guess a lot of that is being concentrated in Toronto area and/or related to transit projects instead of highways.

Then you have the 413 which would eat most of the highway expansion funding it if goes ahead. Projects like the missing Highway 8/401 ramps would be shafted to free up money.

But K/W area is kinda used to project delays. Wasn't the Highway 7 freeway supposed to be done 40 years ago, for example? It's been pledged every election cycle but only minor prep work has been done here and there over the decades.

[MolsonExport]

Yet Douggie says we're under the largest infrastructure investment in the province's history.

I don't know why we should be impressed with this statistic, during a period in which the province's population has been growing faster, in numerical terms, than ever before in the province's history.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by haljackey

Yet Douggie says we're under the largest infrastructure investment in the province's history. I guess a lot of that is being concentrated in Toronto area and/or related to transit projects instead of highways.

Then you have the 413 which would eat most of the highway expansion funding it if goes ahead. Projects like the missing Highway 8/401 ramps would be shafted to free up money.

But K/W area is kinda used to project delays. Wasn't the Highway 7 freeway supposed to be done 40 years ago, for example? It's been pledged every election cycle but only minor prep work has been done here and there over the decades.

He's spending it all on transit projects.

KW has the best highway network of any large city in the province. it has no place to complain in general and the KWC area has very little investment plans from MTO for the future beyond the Highway 7 twinning as it simply has very few needs.

The Highway 7 grand river bridge contract is supposed to go out this year, for what that is worth.

Go to Hamilton or Toronto if you want to see vastly over capacity highway systems.. Kitcheners problems are small potatoes comparatively.

[MolsonExport]

And go to London, where we haven't any highways.

[haljackey]

Meme.

https://www.reddit.com/r/EhBuddyHoser/comments/1l1wl9l/stressed_out/

[haljackey]

‘Long endeavour’: Province plans next phase of Hwy. 401 widening

https://www.villagereport.ca/village-pic...-next-phase-of-hwy-401-widening-10763263