Highways in Canada - Page 207

Innsertnamehere · #**4121** Posted **Jun 7, 2015, 6:17 PM**

There are two full cloverleafs left in the province, and only one under MTO jurisdiction. Highway 62 and the 401 in Belleville is the only cloverleaf MTO controls, and then the other is Lawrence and the DVP which is owned by the City of Toronto.

sa230e · #**4122** Posted **Jun 7, 2015, 7:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Ontario is a bit obsessed with parclos, they build them everywhere, even on little tiny farm road exits in the middle of the countryside. It's the provincial standard. I believe parclos were actually invented by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

Some older interchanges, before the widespread adoption of parclos, still exist in cloverleaf configurations (usually with various types of modification to reduce weaving), but I don't think there's diamonds anywhere other than a few in tight urban environments where they had no room for parclos.

There's one on Highway 401 and French Line Road here in Essex County. Even when they widened the highway to 6 lanes they didn't reconfigure the interchange.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/French+...83ac956e68ce53f:0x4bf1e02f64f3c7f2?hl=en

SignalHillHiker · #**4123** Posted **Jun 7, 2015, 9:18 PM**

Our weirdest. It's even worse than it looks because that intersection has traffic control lights but prohibits the most useful left turns (i.e. you can't turn left driving west on Hamilton Avenue onto the highway. You have to drive straight ahead. Job Street is one way in the other direction so you can't use it's own extra on-ramp thing. You have to turn around after you cross the intersection, come back, and turn right with no turn or merge lane.

eemy · #**4124** Posted **Jun 8, 2015, 12:21 AM**

If you want to go south on the highway from Water, why not just turn onto Job St. instead? That seems to be what they were intending.

eemy · #**4125** Posted **Jun 8, 2015, 12:25 AM**

While full clover leafs are rare now, partial ones that don't prevent weaving are still relatively common in KW. They no longer have weaving on the highway itself, save for a few notably tightly spaced interchanges, but they still do on a few major cross streets.

haljackey · #**4126** Posted **Jun 8, 2015, 1:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

There are two full cloverleafs left in the province, and only one under MTO jurisdiction. Highway 62 and the 401 in Belleville is the only cloverleaf MTO controls, and then the other is Lawrence and the DVP which is owned by the City of Toronto.

Missed one, Highway 4/401 is still a cloverleaf.

Via: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=74362217

Innsertnamehere · #**4127** Posted **Jun 8, 2015, 3:42 AM**

isnt that interchange getting rebuilt?

sonysnob · #**4128** Posted **Jun 8, 2015, 12:06 PM**

Some new photos of Autoroute 73 south of Quebec City. Quebec's MTQ has been busy over the past couple of years extending Autoroute 73 southerly with the ultimate goal of completing a four lane highway between Quebec City and Saint-Georges later in 2016.

Some pictures:

A-73 currently ends at Chemin du Golf, north of Beauceville, QC.

Construction underway east of Notre-Dame-des-Pins

A massive structure is being constructed overtop of the Gilbert River

A short section of four lane autoroute opened east of Saint-Georges a couple of years ago. This view looks northerly approaching the northern-most interchange of this short discontinuous segment.

View of the completed section of A-73 east of Saint-Georges approaching the optimistically named Famine River.

Autoroute 73 will end at a roundabout with Route 204 east of Saint-Georges.

Approaching the roundabout with Autoroute 73 along Route 204.

More photos (and full-size versions of the above photos) here:
http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/PQ/A/73/index.html
http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/PQ/R/204/index.html

1overcosc · #**4129** Posted **Jun 8, 2015, 6:27 PM**

Ontario will be doing a massive rebuild of the semi-elevated (raised above ground level, but on a solid berm between road overpasses) central section of Highway 417 in Ottawa. A total of 19 (!) bridges in just 4 kilometres of highway will be replaced between 2017 and 2019.

http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/news-story/5663232-queensway-to-get-extreme-makeover/

Horus · #**4130** Posted **Jun 8, 2015, 11:13 PM**

Above Autoroute 5 in Gatineau (Hull). Note Parliament Hill and the Chateau Laurier in the background.

manny_santos · #**4131** Posted **Jun 9, 2015, 2:31 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Ontario will be doing a massive rebuild of the semi-elevated (raised above ground level, but on a solid berm between road overpasses) central section of Highway 417 in Ottawa. A total of 19 (!) bridges in just 4 kilometres of highway will be replaced between 2017 and 2019.

http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/news-story/5663232-queensway-to-get-extreme-makeover/

I'm glad that's being rebuilt and not being replaced with a boulevard with traffic lights.

manny_santos · #**4132** Posted **Jun 9, 2015, 2:41 AM**

I have been driving back and forth between Kingston and Toronto on a semi-regular basis over the past few years, as well as between Kingston and Highway 416. I don't know if it's just me, but I feel as though truck drivers are getting more and more reckless. Today driving from Toronto to Kingston was the worst yet: several trucks swerving all over the place, driving in two lanes at once, and one drove onto the gravel on the right side and almost fell off the highway. Last time I was east of Kingston I almost called the police to report a somewhat slow truck hogging the left lane that was swerving all over the place, almost falling into the median several times.

Am I the only one who has noticed this? Why is it that I have never once seen the OPP pull a truck over in my 13 years of driving but I regularly see cars pulled over? I think these trucks are way more of a hazard than cars driving at 120 km/h.

I believe trucks are getting out of control in Ontario, especially east of Toronto. I haven't noticed these problems between Toronto and Windsor.

Innsertnamehere · #**4133** Posted **Jun 9, 2015, 3:00 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by manny_santos

I'm glad that's being rebuilt and not being replaced with a boulevard with traffic lights.

I sense some sarcasm there.

to be fair, the 417 is a bit different that the Gardiner in both construction form, location, use, and national importance.

BenTheGreat97 · #**4134** Posted **Jun 9, 2015, 11:56 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

I sense some sarcasm there.

to be fair, the 417 is a bit different that the Gardiner in both construction form, location, use, and national importance.

I don't think it was sarcasm. It would be a horrible idea to get rid of the 417 by turning it into a city street.

north 42 · #**4135** Posted **Jun 9, 2015, 12:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by manny_santos

I have been driving back and forth between Kingston and Toronto on a semi-regular basis over the past few years, as well as between Kingston and Highway 416. I don't know if it's just me, but I feel as though truck drivers are getting more and more reckless. Today driving from Toronto to Kingston was the worst yet: several trucks swerving all over the place, driving in two lanes at once, and one drove onto the gravel on the right side and almost fell off the highway. Last time I was east of Kingston I almost called the police to report a somewhat slow truck hogging the left lane that was swerving all over the place, almost falling into the median several times.

Am I the only one who has noticed this? Why is it that I have never once seen the OPP pull a truck over in my 13 years of driving but I regularly see cars pulled over? I think these trucks are way more of a hazard than cars driving at 120 km/h.

I believe trucks are getting out of control in Ontario, especially east of Toronto. I haven't noticed these problems between Toronto and Windsor.

I've noticed the same thing between Windsor and Toronto as well, very scary when one comes across the lane when you are right next to it! I've also noticed a trend of trucks passing in the far left third lane, which I thought they were not allowed to use. Nothing worse than being stuck behind three transport trucks all going about the same speed!

Taeolas · #**4136** Posted **Jun 9, 2015, 12:34 PM**

Construction starting on a new roundabout in Fredericton

This has been getting a lot of chatter because it is being built on Route 8, the old TCH running through the upper part of the city. A 2 lane roundabout is being built linking the old highway with Smythe street (a major north/south artery) and Bishop drive (a commercial route running parallel to Route 8, leading to the Regent Mall).

We really need this connection made because the other two arteries (that do cross Route 8) are at capacity and can't really be expanded without a good diversion in place.

A lot of people are expecting chaos with this roundabout when it will be done, but I'm not really seeing it. Most of Route 8's traffic shifted over to the new TCH routing further south years ago and now has maybe a tenth of the traffic it used to have; most of it local I suspect. The highway itself shrinks down to a 2 lanes just a few klicks down from the roundabout to cross the Princess Margaret Bridge, so slowing it down isn't that big a deal if its done right.

Over in the Freddy thread, there was a theory made that the final goal for the old Route 8 would be to make it more like a boulevard in the city; to downgrade it from highway status and to eventually route a new Route 8 somewhere to connect with the north east. To me that theory does seem somewhat plausible, especially the Hanwell to PMB stretch which cuts through the city's commercial and university neighbourhoods. For years, I've seen stories about the dangers of University students cutting across the highway to get from residences to the campus because there isn't really a good crossing in that area. (Granted that's happening down where the highway narrows to single lanes, not the roundabout area)

In any case, once it's done in September, it's really going to change the traffic flows in the city.

Innsertnamehere · #**4137** Posted **Jun 9, 2015, 4:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenTheGreat97

I don't think it was sarcasm. It would be a horrible idea to get rid of the 417 by turning it into a city street.

Seemed like a shot at the Gardiner east demolitions n that toronto city council is currently considering.

haljackey · #**4138** Posted **Jun 9, 2015, 5:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Seemed like a shot at the Gardiner east demolitions n that toronto city council is currently considering.

I am having trouble coming to the realization that I think the Gardiner east should be demolished.

I mean its a no-brainer if there was a parallel/alternative route somewhere close, but there isn't.

I say knock it down, but make sure you invest the savings from rebuilding/maintaining the expressway into making a nice road and improving nearby streets that will see increased traffic.

MalcolmTucker · #**4139** Posted **Jun 9, 2015, 6:23 PM**

The NPV of tear down and create a boulevard versus rebuild is a wash. So is the extra development really going to generate higher returns than less congestion?

1overcosc · #**4140** Posted **Jun 9, 2015, 8:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

I sense some sarcasm there.

to be fair, the 417 is a bit different that the Gardiner in both construction form, location, use, and national importance.

The two circumstances are very different. In terms of role within the region, the 417 is more like the 401; it's the main cross-metro route.

In Ottawa, replacing the central 417 with a boulevard would actually be more harmful for the urban form. It would become a massive headache to cross on foot or on a bike. Right now in many ways its kind of invisible to the city... which would become even more so with all the pedestrian improvements the MTO is making as part of the rebuild.