401 Interchanges

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by K85

so we're finally getting rid of the a-b exits... thank fuck

Yep, new efficient traffic lights at either side of the bridge lol. Seems to be the interchange standard now

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Yep, new efficient traffic lights at either side of the bridge lol. Seems to be the interchange standard now

This is one of the last remaining cloverleafs in the province.

Yes on the crossroad you have additional delays thanks to two new sets of lights, but it really aids safety on the highway. The amount of room you have to merge onto the highway is so tight even a sports car would have trouble getting to speed before merging. Heavy trucks are probably getting onto a 100km/h+ travel lane going 30. That's really dangerous and not a fault of the truckers, but the design of the interchange.
-Add to that anyone who is trying to exit, they have to slam on the brakes once the enter the lane and pray no one is trying to get on at the same time, gunning it.

I haven't used this interchange since the Wonderland exit got built, and I bet traffic demands have gone down. The fact remains that this is an old, completely obsolete interchange and needs a makeover.

Keeping the Glanworth drive overpass is good for everyone as it keeps farm traffic separate. Yes adds more to the project but overall is a good call in my mind.

[kaiserLDN]

http://sire.london.ca/advisory/cache/2/srqccf454p4rns55cuep5r55/3287030225201804531729.PDF

Regarding the 401/Colonel Talbot interchange

[MrSlippery519]

Originally Posted by kaiserLDN

http://sire.london.ca/advisory/cache/2/srqccf454p4rns55cuep5r55/3287030225201804531729.PDF

Regarding the 401/Colonel Talbot interchange

Doesn't seem to work can you re-link? Cache issue?

[kaiserLDN]

For some reason the links don't work from the page. Its on one of there meeting pages though. They talk about it on February 27 at city hall.

[Djeffery]

Click on the number 5 on this page and then the link on the right side of that page

http://sire.london.ca/advisory/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=1751&doctype=AGENDA

[Djeffery]

Was out on the 401 to Colonel Talbot today and saw a survey crew on the side of the highway in the location of the new Glanworth Rd overpass, as well as heavy equipment moving a lot of dirt in the new alignment of Glanworth to the south of the highway. Not sure what the timeline of this whole project is, but it makes sense to build this new overpass first so the old one can be removed to allow for the new ramps from Colonel Talbot.

[haljackey]

It's a good thing Covid-19 is reducing roadtrips. Getting out of this city to the 401 seems like a pain this year.

1- Wonderland has construction from Bradley to Wharncliffe- it's a pain to reach the 402 and 401

2- Wellington & Exeter intersection is being rebuilt. Makes accessing the 401 a problem here

3- Highbury's Thames River Bridge is being rehabbed- down to 1 lane each way here as well - makes reaching the 401 more difficult.

Crazy how all these are going on at once.

[ssiguy]

This is happening all over the country. The low traffic volumes due to COVID combined with being summer has created a rare opportunity of time to re/build needed critical infrastructure with far less disruption than what would normally be the case.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

This is happening all over the country. The low traffic volumes due to COVID combined with being summer has created a rare opportunity of time to re/build needed critical infrastructure with far less disruption than what would normally be the case.

This stuff is all planned prior to Covid. This city doesn't move fast enough to have been able to put some of these plans together to take advantage of Covid slowdowns in traffic. The city has actually cut back on some roadwork due to budgetary constraints, although given how much is going on, I'm not sure what they actually put on hold.

[haljackey]

Exactly. These plans and contracts were made before Covid-19 came along.

Would have been the same if not more road construction as Djeffery mentioned.

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Also of note- 401 median being rebuilt in eastern London and east of the city

As part of the project, a new central support has been built to help with the replacement of the dinky Westchester Bourne overpass.

Location:
https://www.google.ca/maps/@42.9481907,-...rPwjGd8aI7SIDbieaenYLIcS0Gmyips51WR2_rmQ

Not strictly interchange-related but there could be a new design when the new bridge gets built perhaps?

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by haljackey

Not strictly interchange-related but there could be a new design when the new bridge gets built perhaps?

New as in something we haven't seen before? I suspect it's going to be like the highway 73 or 59 overpasses built over the last couple years. I think it's being built to the west of the current bridge like 59 was, rather than demolished and rebuilt on the current alignment like 73 was.

[haljackey]

I don't have any details but I could see the interchange design getting changed to a folded diamond here vs the current diamond interchange.

Moving the ramps to the eastern side of the overpass with loops would increase the distance to the VMP interchange. These two junctions are pretty close together- it's best to space them out some more to minimize any weaving.

And if any widening comes later on the 401, you could build a continuous auxiliary lane between VMP and Westchester Bourne to aid in the traffic movements here.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by haljackey

I don't have any details but I could see the interchange design getting changed to a folded diamond here vs the current diamond interchange.

Moving the ramps to the eastern side of the overpass with loops would increase the distance to the VMP interchange. These two junctions are pretty close together- it's best to space them out some more to minimize any weaving.

And if any widening comes later on the 401, you could build a continuous auxiliary lane between VMP and Westchester Bourne to aid in the traffic movements here.

Found the diagrams online https://collections.ola.org/mon/30002/333674.pdf

They are putting in loops on the northeast and southwest quadrants. It will look essentially like VMP exit without the direct south to westbound ramp (which they have provision to add later). One weird thing is they are removing the current direct north to east ramp with provision to add later. If it's there, I don't see why they remove it with provision to add it back later. Especially with a truck stop right there and many trucks going eastbound leaving the Husky, now you are going to make them make a left to go east. The loop ramp going westbound will be an improvement in that sense.

[Djeffery]

So, are they not building the new 74 overpass this year? I see they put the 3 new centre columns in for the new bridge but there is nothing actually happening on either side of the highway in terms of support structure for the ends of the bridge, or the realignment of the highway.

I did happen to notice today too that at Dorchester Rd, they didn't replace the centre wall under the bridge, just left the old wall there while they replaced the rest of the wall around it. Guess they will replace that after they replace the overpass, which considering they didn't put in new centre columns, will be done well after 74 is eventually done.

[Djeffery]

i saw today that Cromarty Dr at Westchester (highway 74) is being rerouted to the south. I had seen that earlier as part of the bridge replacement plans. The road bed looks pretty close to being ready to get paved, and the intersection is directly across from the existing entrance to the Husky truck stop. This new alignment will help with the number of people who turn on to Cromarty thinking it's the on ramp to the highway in the short term, and move that intersection away from where the new exit ramp from the highway will be.

[Djeffery]

3 steel bridge girders were put in at the new Westchester (74) overpass last night. Was surprised they didn't reach all the way across the highway, considering how long they looked laying on the side of the highway the last couple weeks.

[haljackey]

I haven't been driving much due to Covid but I did notice central supports in the middle of the 401 were built last year as part of the median rebuild east of the city.

I'm assuming all the girders need to be linked together and what you saw was just 2/3 of the span bolted or something.

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Soon the 401 will be cleared for 8-laning all the way from the 402 to the 403. Only the Highbury, Dorchester and Digman overpasses stands in the way and I think those are getting rebuilt soon too.

Although there are some underpasses that need expansion done too. You don't really notice those as much while driving.

To the west Highway 4/Colonel Talbot & Glanworth overpasses need to be rebuilt for the 6-laning effort from Tilbury to the 402.

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by haljackey

Although there are some underpasses that need expansion done too. You don't really notice those as much while driving.

Just west of Highbury is the railway and Pond Mills underpass that is also on the books for replacement. That is going to be a large project that I believe was supposed to take 3 years.

[Djeffery]

Rebuilt interchange at Westchester (former highway 74) and 401 is now open. Not sure if they plan to keep the old eastbound on ramp or not. Saw the pavement grinder sitting there the other day. Hopefully they keep it, as it will be a lot easier for trucks leaving Husky to turn right to go eastbound than to turn left to the new on ramp. But I imagine they will dig it up.