Highways in Canada

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Blitz

Is the Windsor-Essex Parkway eventually going to just be called Highway 401?? I'm still confused by this since nobody in the media seems to mention that this is just an extension of Hwy 401.

According to the Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Highway_401), Highway 401 is 817.9 km long but it's last km marker is 828.0. It's last westbound exit (Highway 3) is at km marker 10.1.

In addition, 828 - 817.9 = 10.1. I would assume this is the length of the Windsor-Essex Parkway so all the exit numbers line up correctly.

From the computer renders I've seen, all the overhead signs label the roadway as Highway 401. I think W-E Parkway will just be a name for the new section, much like the section between the DVP and Trenton is known as the Highway of Heroes but still signed as 401.

Whatever happened to the MacDonald-Cartier Freeway name? Google, Bing, Wikipedia, Etc. label the entire road that name but all the signs are gone. What a pity.

[sonysnob]

^ I think the name Windsor-Essex Parkway will be dropped once the new highway is opened. I think that the Windsor-Essex Parkway moniker was concocted by a PR firm as a more palatable name for the freeway extension in order to get public buy-in from the residents of Windsor in order to get EA approval.

Despite the fact that the MTO doesn't sign the 401 as the MCF any longer, MTO internal documents still reference the highway as such:

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/MTO_Names.pdf

[haljackey]

I'm thinking the same thing. The construction project is called the "Windsor-Essex Parkway" but the goal of the project is to extend the 401.

Still, I could see a lot of people reference the route as such many years after completion. The media as well.

[vid]

Originally Posted by Blitz

Symz, I used to think Windsor's roads were bad until I moved to London. Then I thought London's roads were bad until I moved to Winnipeg.

Whenever I see video of an American city's streets my first thoughts are "holy shit! And we think our roads are bad!"

I looked at KW on Streetview shortly after it came out and was blown away at how bad the roads are down there. I couldn't find any bad roads in my city, the worst ones were all being repaved when the Streetview car came here. We no longer have a major street that is in really bad shape, so now when people complain about the roads, it's just a generic "the roads are shit", not "X Street is shit". They still complain though.

[mbeaumont]

Originally Posted by Blitz

Symz, I used to think Windsor's roads were bad until I moved to London. Then I thought London's roads were bad until I moved to Winnipeg.

I used to whine and complain about Edmonton roads, than I moved to Quebec

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by vid

I looked at KW on Streetview shortly after it came out and was blown away at how bad the roads are down there. I couldn't find any bad roads in my city, the worst ones were all being repaved when the Streetview car came here. We no longer have a major street that is in really bad shape, so now when people complain about the roads, it's just a generic "the roads are shit", not "X Street is shit". They still complain though.

It's funny that you say that even, I lived in K/W for 2.5 years and by in large I wouldn't have said their roads were really that bad.

Toronto has some bad roads. I think they have improved over the past few years, but some streets have been ripped up and patched some many times because of recent redevelopments some lanes are almost undriveable.

[vid]

In front of my apartment, there is a patch on a patch on a patch on a patch on a patch. They rebuilt the street in the 1990s and didn't fill it properly so it caves in a little around manholes, and they patch it. It gets less bad every year, so the patches get smaller and smaller over time. I would guess that the asphalt around them is close to a foot thick by now. With our warmer winters, the cracks have been getting worse at a faster rate. This is probably what Toronto experiences.

We always complain about our freeze-thaw cycle, but it's only a few weeks long. Toronto's freeze-thaw cycle is almost half the year.

We do have one street on a hill in the north end that was repaved improperly so the asphalt slid down the street while it was still hot, it's weird.


http://www.opinionatedbastard.ca/?paged=6

The company that did this is a small contractor that was responsible for doing all of our streets, (we contract out all street projects, about 40 per year, to a single bidder in a single contract) and they had trouble actually doing what they were paid to do.

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by mbeaumont

I used to whine and complain about Edmonton roads, than I moved to Quebec

Right. Sometimes I feel like our roads are as bad as Mexico ... See bellow.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.2...3ZsJodzLBhYCMSv2YA&cbp=12,99.99,,0,15.84

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.2...GpOyhoovbzV8ypJsHQ&cbp=12,218.68,,0,8.79

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.3...3zkYF8du4N-HkMcAA&cbp=12,232.04,,0,15.66

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.1...1Euz--zmJwgaHZ_iQ&cbp=12,314.44,,0,17.06

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.6...DjNlzCs2hLiSMVxxQ&cbp=12,229.75,,0,19.23

....

Then before complaining about your roads, think about Quebec

[Wharn]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

Toronto has some bad roads. I think they have improved over the past few years, but some streets have been ripped up and patched some many times because of recent redevelopments some lanes are almost undriveable.

Toronto's roads have been bad since the mid 2000s or so. Steeles Avenue in particular was a disaster until just a little while ago because Miller kept trying to offload responsibility for it on York Region, but since it was repaved it has been one of the select few good roads in the city. I find the absolute worst-maintained roads are still in Scarberia.

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

Right. Sometimes I feel like our roads are as bad as Mexico ... See bellow.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.2...3ZsJodzLBhYCMSv2YA&cbp=12,99.99,,0,15.84

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.2...GpOyhoovbzV8ypJsHQ&cbp=12,218.68,,0,8.79

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.3...3zkYF8du4N-HkMcAA&cbp=12,232.04,,0,15.66

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.1...1Euz--zmJwgaHZ_iQ&cbp=12,314.44,,0,17.06

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.6...DjNlzCs2hLiSMVxxQ&cbp=12,229.75,,0,19.23

....

Then before complaining about your roads, think about Quebec

The third one would make a good post-apocalyptic filming spot. We could do Mad Max 3 there.

[vid]

I think those roads would be better off if they were dirt! Ontario Highway 588, southwest of Thunder Bay, has a weird transition period between regular pavement and compact gravel that has an extremely rough texture even though it looks smooth. Once you get to the end of it and are on the dirt road (which isn't a provincial highway at that point) the ride actually gets smoother.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ll=48.2...tsCLUgsdia8ADpaWA&cbp=12,337.66,,0,13.77

The road doesn't even look at bad in Streetview, but when you drive on it, it's like driving on that corded asphalt that they put down before a final paving on city streets. It's weird.

[FrAnKs]

Thats what we call a good road in Quebec

[sonysnob]

A lot of Toronto's problems come from situations like this:

http://g.co/maps/8d3vp

The residential housing that is visible in the photo is new, and if you look closely at the asphalt there is a patch for every trench that needed to be dug to link the new sanitary and water services to the existing sanitary sewer and watermain. I stay in the left lane when I drive south along Bayview.

[vid]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

Thats what we call a good road in Quebec

Yeah, considering where it is (over 2 hours away from the city by car) it's quite surprising what good shape that road it in. I am pretty sure it hasn't been paved in my lifetime. It probably gets less than 200 cars a day, though.

[mbeaumont]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

Right. Sometimes I feel like our roads are as bad as Mexico ... See bellow.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.2...3ZsJodzLBhYCMSv2YA&cbp=12,99.99,,0,15.84

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.2...GpOyhoovbzV8ypJsHQ&cbp=12,218.68,,0,8.79

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.3...3zkYF8du4N-HkMcAA&cbp=12,232.04,,0,15.66

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.1...1Euz--zmJwgaHZ_iQ&cbp=12,314.44,,0,17.06

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=45.6...DjNlzCs2hLiSMVxxQ&cbp=12,229.75,,0,19.23

....

Then before complaining about your roads, think about Quebec

Maybe I wasn't clear, but I wasn't saying at all that Edmonton had worse roads than Quebec, just the fact that after I moved to Quebec, the roads were so much worse I had no reason to complain about them back home anymore. Although to give Quebec credit, the roads are getting better, compared to what they were even a few years ago

[vegeta_skyline]

Originally Posted by Wharn

I find the absolute worst-maintained roads are still in Scarberia.

So true. And that's just awesome! > Someone else who calls it by it's real name

[north 42]

I've gotta say that of all the places I've been, Quebecs' roads, especially in Montreal, are the worst. Christ, last year that big chunk of overpass collapsed downtown onto the highway, and we had just drove on that exact section the night before. Even Detroit has better road infrastructure than Quebec, what's up with that?!!!

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by north 42

I've gotta say that of all the places I've been, Quebecs' roads, especially in Montreal, are the worst. Christ, last year that big chunk of overpass collapsed downtown onto the highway, and we had just drove on that exact section the night before. Even Detroit has better road infrastructure than Quebec, what's up with that?!!!

I often wonder if the only reason Montreal was first settled was because there was already a network of roads starting to deteriorate even before the first settlers arrived.

[catkat]

Originally Posted by north 42

I've gotta say that of all the places I've been, Quebecs' roads, especially in Montreal, are the worst. Christ, last year that big chunk of overpass collapsed downtown onto the highway, and we had just drove on that exact section the night before. Even Detroit has better road infrastructure than Quebec, what's up with that?!!!

When you say Detroit, do you mean the city proper or metro region? Either way why are you comparing a city (Detroit) to an entire province (Quebec)? And I've found Detroit's roads and highways to be quite nice actually. IMO they have the COOLEST highways

• Video Link

Like honestly where are you going to see a highway like that? They simply "don't make em like that anymore". They physics of it are incredible. The way it weaves up and down. No awkward bumps or turns or anything. And the fact that its sunken with grass hills on each side. I would love to commute on that each day.

[sonysnob]

That's something that I can definately agree with. Say what you want about Detroit as a city, it has pretty awesome highways:

[Robertpuant]

Originally Posted by north 42

I've gotta say that of all the places I've been, Quebecs' roads, especially in Montreal, are the worst. Christ, last year that big chunk of overpass collapsed downtown onto the highway, and we had just drove on that exact section the night before. Even Detroit has better road infrastructure than Quebec, what's up with that?!!!

You make myself, and the 4 millions people who live in the Greater Montreal area, look very courageous. Ironically, bureaucrats responsible for this mess live around the spotless roads of Quebec City. Montreal gets just as much hate from the rest of the province as Toronto gets from the rest of Ontario, the only difference being that we're not the capital.