Highways in Canada

[SignalHillHiker]

Morning rush hour on Pitts Memorial Drive, which is one of the main routes from the suburbs to downtown St. John's, especially for those who live in the amalgamated coastal communities that make up the Town of Conception Bay South (30,000+ people).


Morning Rush Hour in St. John's by SignalHillHiker, on Flickr

[Metro-One]

Cool pic, thanks for sharing!

Here is an interesting update regarding the #1 expansion in Vancouver.

The old cape horn overpass is being torn down today, traffic is down to one lane in each direction:

Earlier this morning:



And this afternoon:



And here is a cool shot of the Cape Horn interchange project from the air:



Source: Trysh on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/trysh/page2/

[vid]

What is that fancy looking planet mural building on the bottom right?

[Metro-One]

Thats Planet Ice, an ice rink facility. They are a chain, there are a few in Metro Vancouver.

[haljackey]

Just finished making this bad boy: Timelapse Drive of Highway 8 in Kitchener.

• Video Link

[JHikka]

The twinning to Highway 1 between the American border and Saint John, NB will be finished later this month.

[haljackey]

Timelapse video of a section of the newly widened 401 between Woodstock and Kitchener.

• Video Link

[sonysnob]

Some new photos of Ontario's Hwy 404, which is the northern continuation of Toronto's Don Valley Parkway:

http://asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_404-406_images/Hwy404_Images.htm

[haljackey]

Awesome pic! Can't wait to see the airport lands there developed!

----


Last video from the little road-trip I took.

• Video Link

[SignalHillHiker]

An awesome timelapse of the ORR in suburban St. John's:

http://www.cbc.ca/video/watch/Shows/ID=2283823386

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by GregHickman

The twinning to Highway 1 between the American border and Saint John, NB will be finished later this month.

I'm surprised it wasn't done 50 years ago. Is it still crappy 1 lane road from the New Brunswick to Bangor?

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I'm surprised it wasn't done 50 years ago. Is it still crappy 1 lane road from the New Brunswick to Bangor?

A rare case where the US needs to catch up, but I am not sure if extending I-395 to the border is a priority.

[Innsertnamehere]

as of last year, yes. (when I last drove it)

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I'm surprised it wasn't done 50 years ago. Is it still crappy 1 lane road from the New Brunswick to Bangor?

As of this moment yes but the government of Maine has been receiving proposals to build a East-West highway from southern NB connecting east of Sherbrooke. Saint John -> American border will be fully twinned later this month and if the private highway in Maine can be built (and completed by ~2017-2019) you'll be able to drive twinned from Sherbrooke, through Maine, into NB. If built this trans-Maine highway from Saint John to Montreal would save about 2-3 hours one-way.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/68558-maine-reviews-highway-proposal

Basically this cuts down travel times siginifcantly from the Maritimes to Ontario/Quebec/anywhere important whilst at the same time taking all of the traffic away from the current route of Edmundston and Rivere-du-Loup.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by GregHickman

If built this trans-Maine highway from Saint John to Montreal would save about 2-3 hours one-way.

That would be a boon to most of the Maritimes although northern New Brunswick would instantly become a little more isolated. Sherbrooke would benefit as well. As of now, little Maritime to Montreal traffic passes through it.

[MTLskyline]

I don't think there is a divided highway between Sherbrooke and Maine.

Another interesting idea might be a link between Saint-Georges in the Beauce and Woodstock, NB via Houlton, ME. Saint-Georges to Wooodstock is around 250km.

I always thought it would be neat if the part of Maine north of the 45th parallel were to become part of New Brunswick.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MTLskyline

I always thought it would be neat if the part of Maine north of the 45th parallel were to become part of New Brunswick.

Interesting factoid about the War of 1812. The war had generally gone poorly for the Americans and after the burning of Washington, a New England secession movement really began to gain traction. President Monroe was willing to sue for peace on British terms to keep the union intact, but unfortunately we lost a couple of battles late in 1814 (including an attack on Plattsburgh) which hardened American resolve and discredited the New England based Federalist Party.

If we had won these two battles, the peace terms would have (amongst other things) given us northern Maine.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by isaidso

That would be a boon to most of the Maritimes although northern New Brunswick would instantly become a little more isolated. Sherbrooke would benefit as well. As of now, little Maritime to Montreal traffic passes through it.

The highway corridor in Northern New Brunswick would definitely hollow out. Edmundston would probably still survive but i'm not sure about the others. In terms of replacing the North route with Trans-Maine I look at it as connecting the Maritimes with Sherbrooke instead of Riviere-du-Loup. Suddenly you have a city of ~200K roughly 3-3.5 hours away from Fredericton in Saint John. Saint John -> Halifax is 3 Hours and i'm guessing SJ -> Montreal would be roughly 5/6 with the new highway (if driving quick ). 3 hour drives are nothing for me and I would definitely make the drive to Sherbrooke (and obviously Montreal) often. I'm sure others feel the same way...people often drive three hours to Bangor just to shop. It would be a great connection between the Maritimes and Quebec and one that is sorely needed.

Sherbrooke east to the Maine border is not twinned. NB has already (for once) done their part in twinning to the border. Come on, Quebec!

Although I like the idea of Saint-Georges -> Woodstock (via Houlton), there's literally nothing in Maine of any substance on that route. The proposed route for the Trans-Maine at least utilizes pre-existing roads and goes just north of Bangor. There's literally nothing on the I-95 between Houlton and Old Town. It's more barren than NB highways and that's saying a lot.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by isaidso

That would be a boon to most of the Maritimes although northern New Brunswick would instantly become a little more isolated. Sherbrooke would benefit as well. As of now, little Maritime to Montreal traffic passes through it.

Northern New Brunswick is in rapid decline as it is; this proposed American highway, concurrently with changes to EI from Ottawa, is going to hit NB's north even harder.

Sadly, southern New Brunswick will gradually resemble its north since there has been a nearly complete apathy toward sustainable development. Most 'growth' in the province's cities has added more to its debt than the amount generated in revenues.

There are a lack of industries and jobs, as well as a lack of urban living options. Regardless of which city you live in -- Saint John, Moncton, or Frederiction -- it is extremely difficult to live without the ownership of a car because living in New Brunswick means you're living in the suburbs. The situation in PEI is quite similar.

Younger working demographics are migrating elsewhere. I am very worried about the futures of these two Maritime provinces.

[Acajack]

Does this new highway through Maine even have a realistic chance of getting built?

Also, as for Quebec doing its part, it's a bit late but I think they would answer they are doing so by finishing the A-85 between RDL and NB.

Also 2, many Canadians still don't have a passport and would not likely get one just to drive to and from the Maritimes. I forgot about mine and it just recently expired so if I was going there today I'd be driving through Canada regardless of the existence of the Maine route.