Highways in Canada

[ssiguy]

You do not need US style super freeways to have a good highway system.

What you do need is proper full interchanges so you don't come across highways with stop lights, connectivity, and highways of at least 6 lanes to carry realistic traffic volumes.

BC only has one such road, it's only 30km long, and to travel the whole distance you have to pay a pretty hefty little toll.

Some touchy-feely do-gooders in Vancouver over the years {like Price} seem to think that good transportation planning was the equivalent with lots of transit and few roads with low capacity. Obviously transportation planning in Vancouver has been a failure of huge proportions as the still relatively small city has the longest commutes in NA.

Yes a lot has been built in the last few years but doesn't change the fact Vancouver still has the worse highway system in the country.

[dmuzika]

BC does have an extended 30 km stretch of 6 lanes on TCH 1; however, for the majority of the section the left lane is HOV. How would proper lane etiquette apply for 2 + 1 HOV? I’m guessing drivers treat it as a standard 2 lane freeway (keep right except to pass) with 2+ occupants, or whatever restriction applies, using the HOV lane for medium/long distance travel.

[haljackey]

Ontario is studying a corridor, dubbed the 'GTA West Highway', which would run north and west of Brampton.

Article:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transpor...y-forward-thinking-or-retro-mistake.html

Map:


If approved, construction won't start until 2020 at the earliest. Not sure if tolls are planned on it.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by dmuzika

BC does have an extended 30 km stretch of 6 lanes on TCH 1; however, for the majority of the section the left lane is HOV. How would proper lane etiquette apply for 2 + 1 HOV? I’m guessing drivers treat it as a standard 2 lane freeway (keep right except to pass) with 2+ occupants, or whatever restriction applies, using the HOV lane for medium/long distance travel.

This section is what he is referring to, and it has been upgraded to 4 lanes now (3 general and 1 HOV).

[Airboy]

The most famous Ice Road opens today.

9500 loads are going to try to deliver 335,000 metric tonnes of supplies.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/diamond-mine-ice-road-expected-to-have-record-year-1.2937270

[manny_santos]

Official word from the MTO reportedly today that the West Durham Link will indeed be Highway 412, and the proposed East Durham Link will be Highway 418.

I believe these to be the first new highway numbers assigned in Ontario in 12 years.

[Innsertnamehere]

source?

[toaster]

Originally Posted by haljackey

Ontario is studying a corridor, dubbed the 'GTA West Highway', which would run north and west of Brampton.

Article:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transpor...y-forward-thinking-or-retro-mistake.html

Map:


If approved, construction won't start until 2020 at the earliest. Not sure if tolls are planned on it.

Interesting. I think this is needed, especially with the expected growth. Any news on whether the 427 will be extended North as well?

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

source?

http://www.thekingshighway.ca/Highway412.htm
http://www.thekingshighway.ca/Highway418.htm

The owner of this website, who works for the MTO also posted this on his Facebook.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by toaster

Interesting. I think this is needed, especially with the expected growth. Any news on whether the 427 will be extended North as well?

I believe the 427 is approved to be extended to Major Mackenzie or somewhere around there. Another extension would likely be needed to link it up with this highway.

Highway 7 freeway is approved to run from the Conestoga Parkway in Kitchener to Highway 6 in Guelph. I would imagine it would eventually get extended to meet up with this highway.

[Innsertnamehere]

Construction of the 407 East Extension, January aerial images:

[Horus]

Originally Posted by haljackey

Highway 7 freeway is approved to run from the Conestoga Parkway in Kitchener to Highway 6 in Guelph. I would imagine it would eventually get extended to meet up with this highway.

Highway 7 upgrade schematics are found here

[MolsonExport]

Woot Route!

[sonysnob]

Some pictures of the Bécancour segment of Quebec's Autoroute 30. This short segment of Autoroute 30 was constructed during the late 1960s during the height of the autoroute era in Quebec. It was constructed at the same time as Pont Laviolette across the St. Lawrence at Trois Rivières and had been envisioned as a long-distance autoroute that would have stretched along the south shore of the river between Montreal and Quebec City. In the early 1970s, the autoroute-era was quashed by the incoming BQ government, and save for these few short kilometres in Bécancour, A-30 was never completed.









http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/PQ/A/30/Page4.html

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by haljackey

Ontario is studying a corridor, dubbed the 'GTA West Highway', which would run north and west of Brampton.

So we want a bypass of a bypass? What are we, Houston?

[Innsertnamehere]

technically it would be a bypass of a bypass of a bypass. The 401 was originally called "the Toronto bypass".

[Innsertnamehere]

Autoroute 30 probably should never have been built anyway, It would have been nothing but a duplicate of Autoroute 20 30km to the south of it. Plus there really is no need to have 3 different freeways between Montreal and Quebec City.

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Autoroute 30 probably should never have been built anyway, It would have been nothing but a duplicate of Autoroute 20 30km to the south of it. Plus there really is no need to have 3 different freeways between Montreal and Quebec City.

Autoroute 30 ends in Sorel. +-75km From Sorel to A-55.

[Innsertnamehere]

I realize. I meant the stretch that Sonysnob was discussing, which would have been the part that extended all the way to Quebec City.

[eternallyme]

408 would be what, the Mid-Peninsula Highway?

411 definitely should be reserved for any renumbering of 11 between Barrie and North Bay. If the Barrie to Gravenhurst section is upgraded to a freeway, they probably could get away with renumbering the whole thing 411 (and truncating 11 to North Bay), although there are a few overpasses and closures still to be done.