Highways in Canada

[Innsertnamehere]

hint: it won't. 407A or something is more likely.

[Dwils01]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Haven't seen this posted officially anywhere, but a couple of Wikipedia articles now claim the West Durham Link will be called Highway 412.

Back in 2010 the plans showed them to be called 412 and 413. 411 was the original instead of 413 but I guess they are saving it for Hwy 11 if they plan to upgrade the highway from Barrie to Gravenhurst.
Since it almost 5 years later this is probably not the plan anymore.

[sa230e]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

hint: it won't. 407A or something is more likely.

I hope they won't go with that. To me a suffixed name implies an alternative to the numbered route. Especially -A (alternate) or -B (business or bypass). And traditionally this is how Ontario uses suffixes (Highway 401A or Highway 7A for example).

The WDC/EDC are connectors and run perpendicular to the 407 and I think they should be given new 400 series numbers. Plus you wouldn't have to renumber them if one day you wanted to extend them past 407.

I personally like the 412 and 413 idea. I think 411 should be reserved for Highway 11.

[sonysnob]

I thought the idea of suffixed routes was dumb too.

Fortunately, I have heard that the 412 designation is back on the table for the WDL. 412 has always been the logical designation for the WDL.

I have also heard that the EDL will have a normal 400-series designation as well.

[Innsertnamehere]

Interesting, I always thought they would get a 407 themed numbering simply because they will be tolled and that "toll road" brand would want to be kept under the 407 name.

[sonysnob]

^ That was the rationale that I was told for using 407x designations for the durham links as well.

I still think there will be some sort of "branding" continuity between the new toll roads, they must have just figured out a way to do so and still give the durham links their own independent highway numbers.

It wouldn't shock me if a special or unique route shield was used on both the 407E and the durham links in order to both distinguish them from the existing 407ETR, but also sign them consistently to indicate that they are toll roads. Though I haven't seen any signing plans either to confirm this, or figure out exactly how the new road will be signed.

[eemy]

412ETR?

Edit: Weird... if I type "ETR" on its own in all-caps, it comes out in lower-case.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by sa230e

I hope they won't go with that. To me a suffixed name implies an alternative to the numbered route. Especially -A (alternate) or -B (business or bypass). And traditionally this is how Ontario uses suffixes (Highway 401A or Highway 7A for example).

The WDC/EDC are connectors and run perpendicular to the 407 and I think they should be given new 400 series numbers. Plus you wouldn't have to renumber them if one day you wanted to extend them past 407.

I personally like the 412 and 413 idea. I think 411 should be reserved for Highway 11.

With a few minor upgrades, if the 411 designation was signed Barrie to Gravenhurst, it could actually be signed to North Bay.

[Innsertnamehere]

no it couldn't, there are plenty of level crossings between Gravenhurst and North Bay. Mind you the 400 has a couple as well, but not nearly as many as 11 has north of Gravenhurst.

the RIRO section of 11 is slowly going to be upgraded as traffic demand warrants a widening to 6 lanes. That means that the section to Orillia is going to need it very soon (next 5 years or so) while the section to Gravenhurst is still a long ways off. Then there is the at grade crossings between Gravenhurst and North Bay, which MTO actually been slowly eliminating, but even then there are still around 20 or so of them left. We are likely looking at 20-30 years still before the 411 designation can be applied to 11, unless there is some form of concerted effort to upgrade the highway to 400 series standards.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

^ That was the rationale that I was told for using 407x designations for the durham links as well.

I still think there will be some sort of "branding" continuity between the new toll roads, they must have just figured out a way to do so and still give the durham links their own independent highway numbers.

It wouldn't shock me if a special or unique route shield was used on both the 407E and the durham links in order to both distinguish them from the existing 407ETR, but also sign them consistently to indicate that they are toll roads. Though I haven't seen any signing plans either to confirm this, or figure out exactly how the new road will be signed.

I think the best thing to do is use standard King's Highway shields, but with a different colour, like the QEW. However I don't see a big need to brand them as toll highways, I don't think any toll Interstates in the US use special branding.

As long as they don't use "407" in either of the Durham links or give them 7000-series numbers, I'll be happy. Keep it simple for everyone.

[sonysnob]

A collection of photos of the extension of Highway 401 in Windsor, Ontario. These photos were taken on three separate occasions during the 2014 construction season. The new highway (dubbed the Herb Gray Parkway) will open to traffic sometime during 2015. As is evident from the photos, the highway was nearly complete before the winter necessitated a construction shut down.

Some pictures:


















For more photos than anyone could ever care to see (or for full-size versions of the photos above):
http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_401_images/HGP/Hwy401_HGP_images.htm

[haljackey]

Some plans for Ontario over the next few years

Southern highways http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pubs/hi.../southern-highways-program-2014-2018.pdf

Northern highways http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pubs/hi.../northern-highways-program-2014-2018.pdf

[Innsertnamehere]

oh good, its finally out. Really, really late though.

edit: and... absolutely nothing new in it from what I can tell. a few date changes in it some completion dates have been added, but generally, absolutely nothing.

[sonysnob]

^ Yeah, no real surprises at all. These are some of the things that jumped out at me:

MTO has left all of the Hwy 69 twinning listed as "beyond 2016". Even with a majority government they still won't admit that the highway won't be ready by 2017.

I noticed that the Grand River Bridge on Hwy 401 is scheduled to be rehabilitated between 2016 and 2018. We'll have to wait and see how exhaustive the rehabilitation is to see if that work will indeed be a pre-cursor to the new ramps between Hwys 8 and 401 as I suspect it will be.

No new work is scheduled for Hwy 417 west of Arnprior in the current plan. I have seen internal documents that suggested that Hwy 417 work was going to be expedited between Arnprior and Renfrew, guess that isn't the case after all (at least not yet).

Also, I am pleased to see the Dixie Road interchange project get funded. This is really the first phase of adding HOV lanes through the QEW in Mississauga.

[Innsertnamehere]

Dixie road was listed as funded last time using an asterisk in the "Future projects" section. If you look there, you can see that MTO has money to widen the 401 out to Milton as well.

[1overcosc]

Hmm.. in Ottawa there's definitely some new things.... three items that I've definitely not ever seen before are now funded:
1) Bronson Avenue interchange realignment--this has been planned for like a decade but never been funded
2) Resurfacing between OR174 & Walkley
3) Bridge rehabs of Innes, Walkley, Holland, and O'Connor

Plus a recycling of two items from the previous plan, the Kent St bridge replacement (now moved up to 2015!), and the replacement of the O-Train Trillium Line overpass.

The focus seems to have shifted from expansion to rehabilitation, at least in Ottawa,

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Hmm.. in Ottawa there's definitely some new things.... three items that I've definitely not ever seen before are now funded:
1) Bronson Avenue interchange realignment--this has been planned for like a decade but never been funded
2) Resurfacing between OR174 & Walkley
3) Bridge rehabs of Innes, Walkley, Holland, and O'Connor

Plus a recycling of two items from the previous plan, the Kent St bridge replacement (now moved up to 2015!), and the replacement of the O-Train Trillium Line overpass.

The focus seems to have shifted from expansion to rehabilitation, at least in Ottawa,

There isn't really any significant need for expansion in the short term in Ottawa (at least under provincial control) with the eastern and western sections completed. The nearest MTO-funded major expansion necessary is Highway 17 in the Ottawa Valley (which politics is getting in the way of IMO - they have not had a government MPP there since 1987).

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

The nearest MTO-funded major expansion necessary is Highway 17 in the Ottawa Valley (which politics is getting in the way of IMO - they have not had a government MPP there since 1987).

I dunno... the freeway to Carleton Place got funded and built under the McGuinty government despite the fact that the Carleton Place area is represented by a PC with basically zero hope of an OLP win, while at the same time the 17 twinning project out east has gotten near-zero support from the province despite the area being home to two vulnerable OLP incumbents... I think people overestimate the significance of things like this.

[waterloowarrior]

"401 Belleville Area" is a new one in the long term beyond 2018 plan... perhaps we'll see a new EA coming in the next few years

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

"401 Belleville Area" is a new one in the long term beyond 2018 plan... perhaps we'll see a new EA coming in the next few years

Widening to 6 lanes there, like they just did in Kingston? Or perhaps interchange reconfigurations.

Slow but steady progress to a 6-lane 401 from Toronto to Kingston what with the 6-laning through Cobourg starting soon and the 6-laning of the Cataraqui River overpass wrapping up.