Highways in Canada

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I would agree. The new section of A85 is a real treat to drive on, and is visually interesting too. The section around Lac Temiscouata is a particular joy.

A85 gets the balance more correct between amount of new highway versus high design standard.

It's a huge leap over 185 in safety with less wasteful design mandates. A 7% grade isn't optimal, but it's not like the road is going to be clogged with tractor-trailers trying to pass each other on the uphill sections.

Even if there is, an auxiliary climb lane is far cheaper than making that 7% grade into a 3% one. There are chunks of Highway 11 in Ontario (near Orillia and close to Trout Creek) that use this solution.

[Innsertnamehere]

there are several climbing lanes on the Ontario highway network - 403 in Hamilton, Highway 6 in Waterdown, Red Hill Valley Parkway in Hamilton, Highway 11 in Orillia etc.

It's not like they don't exist, Ontario just typically doesn't need them as it's generally pretty flat.

69 is perhaps a little overbuilt but not anything crazy, most interchanges are pretty minimal. Some of the parclos could probably be changed to just diamond interchanges, but most interchanges are low cost diamonds or trumpets. MTO has generally been building the highway for $10-14 million per km, which is pretty reasonable.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by thewave46

Even if there is, an auxiliary climb lane is far cheaper than making that 7% grade into a 3% one. There are chunks of Highway 11 in Ontario (near Orillia and close to Trout Creek) that use this solution.

Certainly cheaper, and appropriate too. There is a northbound section of the 118 exiting Halifax which is on a steep grade that has an auxiliary lane for slow truck traffic too. It works well.

[Dengler Avenue]

Actually, the 7% is only for going downhill. Uphill slope is capped at 5%.
On N.B.-2, for sections like this, N.B. simply requires trucks to keep right.
On N.S.-104, I’ve seen trucks just climbing slowly using the right shoulder.

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

there are several climbing lanes on the Ontario highway network - 403 in Hamilton, Highway 6 in Waterdown, Red Hill Valley Parkway in Hamilton, Highway 11 in Orillia etc.

It's not like they don't exist, Ontario just typically doesn't need them as it's generally pretty flat.

69 is perhaps a little overbuilt but not anything crazy, most interchanges are pretty minimal. Some of the parclos could probably be changed to just diamond interchanges, but most interchanges are low cost diamonds or trumpets. MTO has generally been building the highway for $10-14 million per km, which is pretty reasonable.

I will concede that I'm not an engineer, so much of the 'savings' I see from a non-expert point-of-view may actually be illusory.

sonysnob has made good points about this topic.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

A5 through Gatineau and A973 through Quebec has a speed limit of 70 kph as well.
Oh yea, when I went 84 kph on the left lane on Metropolitan Freeway, I got tailed too.

The A-5 is 50 kmh on the bridge then 70 as soon as you get off the bridge. The 70 zone lasts for about 2 km until just after you pass the casino exit.

After that it's 100.

You are correct that there are a few freeway segments that are 70 in the Quebec City area as well.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by thewave46

I'm trying to think of places in Montreal that have 70km/h limits. The Decarie? The 720? I don't think those were engineered for much more than 90 km/h, so I can see the purpose of the low limits..

The A-40 (Autoroute Métropolitaine) across north-end Montreal is 70 for its entire elevated section from Décarie all the way to the A-25 (Lafontaine tunnel) in the east end at least. That's about 15 km.

Décarie (A-15) is all 70 as well.

Can't remember what the speed is on the A-720.

[Dengler Avenue]

It was always 70 kph on A720.
The only annoying thing is that Samuel de Champlain Bridge has a speed limit of 80 kph but that 120 kph on that bridge is perfectly fine.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by thewave46

I will concede that I'm not an engineer, so much of the 'savings' I see from a non-expert point-of-view may actually be illusory.

sonysnob has made good points about this topic.

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=234240&page=10
Sharing the link so everyone knows your allusion

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Freeway standards in BC are terrible. Ontario's are much closer to the US Interstates.

Aside from the North Shore examples already posted, one of the most dangerous interchanges I've ever seen is on Highway 1 at Highway 13 near Aldergrove.

https://www.google.com/maps/@49.0992952,...pwsElFFpKc8d1cRHlJggA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The first time I drove here, I almost hit a transport truck that was coming onto the freeway. Being from Ontario, I did not anticipate coming across an onramp with absolutely no acceleration lane. The only other place I've driven with freeway onramps like this was in Mexico.

Regardless of my speed, I always drive in the passing lane when passing through this interchange, just to protect myself. A lot of trucks use this interchange as Highway 13 leads to a US border crossing a short distance to the south.

Some of the more recently rebuilt sections of Highway 1 are built to a much higher standard. Basically anything from 216 St in Langley west to the Cassiar Tunnel is built to a good standard, but other sections are not.

Good timing for your comment.

Your chance to help reshape the highway 13 interchange.

Originally Posted by madog222

^


https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation-projects/fraser-valley-highway1/highway1-whatcom

Discussion guide and survey are available there as well.

[craner]

Speaking of A85 - when is the expansion all the way to NB scheduled to be complete ?

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Perhaps in highway design but ON highways lack animal fencing in a lot of areas, no?

It's only more recently that animal fencing has been put up. The only one that I can think of in Northern Ontario is Hwy 69 South of Sudbury.

The fencing only tends to be effective on freeways or highways that have very limited road access to it. Fencing wouldn't work very well on 2 lane highways in my region as much as I would like it to be there.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by craner

Speaking of A85 - when is the expansion all the way to NB scheduled to be complete ?

2025.
One or two sections (out of the 7) should be opened this fall.

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by Loco101

It's only more recently that animal fencing has been put up. The only one that I can think of in Northern Ontario is Hwy 69 South of Sudbury.

The fencing only tends to be effective on freeways or highways that have very limited road access to it. Fencing wouldn't work very well on 2 lane highways in my region as much as I would like it to be there.

A section of Highway 11 between north of Powassan got wildlife fencing a few years ago. They even installed culverts beneath both directions of the highway to facilitate large animal crossings. To my knowledge, this is the only at-grade highway to have wildlife fencing installed in Ontario.

The MTO has tried various visual detection systems where sensors are placed along the edge of the right of way of the highway and if a large animal crosses the path of the sensor warning lights on the highway are triggered for a duration of time. The trouble with this system though, if an animal crosses onto the right of way, but then doesn't leave the right of way, the flashing warning lights warning motorists of the presence of an animal could time out and deactivate with the animal still being present. These have been installed on the 416 near Kemptville, as well as on Hwy 6 just north of Manitoulin and Highway 17 north of the Sault. There may be other locations that I can't recall off the top of my head as well.

[hipster duck]

One major difference between Ontario, Quebec and NS and the rest of the country is that these provinces have a separate expressway division, which puts them in line with pretty much every other country in the developed world.

These separate highway series or autoroutes might be more than just semantics. I think it actually trickles down and affects the practice of what is deemed to be an acceptable standard in highway construction. In places like BC, especially, I find that a "highway improvement" is usually just replacing some intersections with interchanges on four-lane surface roads, without doing much to the other, antiquated design features en route. These are also done in a very piecemeal fashion.

There are projects like this in Ontario, too, but these roads are never designated as 400 series highways. I'm not sure if this is just an urban legend, but I believe a 400 series highway has to be seamlessly connected to another major 400 series highway. Hence highways that are to 400 series standards but are disconnected by surface sections, like Highways 11, 69 and 115, aren't designated as such.

[milomilo]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=234240&page=10
Sharing the link so everyone knows your allusion

Those posts were really interesting! Thanks to you and sonysnob!

[milomilo]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

One major difference between Ontario, Quebec and NS and the rest of the country is that these provinces have a separate expressway division, which puts them in line with pretty much every other country in the developed world.

These separate highway series or autoroutes might be more than just semantics. I think it actually trickles down and affects the practice of what is deemed to be an acceptable standard in highway construction. In places like BC, especially, I find that a "highway improvement" is usually just replacing some intersections with interchanges on four-lane surface roads, without doing much to the other, antiquated design features en route. These are also done in a very piecemeal fashion.

There are projects like this in Ontario, too, but these roads are never designated as 400 series highways. I'm not sure if this is just an urban legend, but I believe a 400 series highway has to be seamlessly connected to another major 400 series highway. Hence highways that are to 400 series standards but are disconnected by surface sections, like Highways 11, 69 and 115, aren't designated as such.

I've banged on about this on the Alberta forum for years. Essentially west of Ontario there are no "freeways", "motorways" "autoroutes", "autobahns", whatever you want to call them. There are just roads, and roads that look like freeways are just big roads. There are no separate legal rules (like not being able to ride a bike or drive a tractor), and no consistency of design. The freeway might all of a sudden have a left turn across the opposing lane and trucks slowing down to make it.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

I'm not sure if this is just an urban legend, but I believe a 400 series highway has to be seamlessly connected to another major 400 series highway. Hence highways that are to 400 series standards but are disconnected by surface sections, like Highways 11, 69 and 115, aren't designated as such.

That's interesting. If true, I wonder if that's always been the case.

Because the 417 for a very long time (before the construction of the 416) was not connected any other 400-series highway.

Unless you counted a very circuitous route through Quebec via the A-40, A-540 (now the A-30) and the A-20, that technically linked it up to the 401.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

A section of Highway 11 between north of Powassan got wildlife fencing a few years ago. They even installed culverts beneath both directions of the highway to facilitate large animal crossings. To my knowledge, this is the only at-grade highway to have wildlife fencing installed in Ontario.

The MTO has tried various visual detection systems where sensors are placed along the edge of the right of way of the highway and if a large animal crosses the path of the sensor warning lights on the highway are triggered for a duration of time. The trouble with this system though, if an animal crosses onto the right of way, but then doesn't leave the right of way, the flashing warning lights warning motorists of the presence of an animal could time out and deactivate with the animal still being present. These have been installed on the 416 near Kemptville, as well as on Hwy 6 just north of Manitoulin and Highway 17 north of the Sault. There may be other locations that I can't recall off the top of my head as well.

The newest sections of A-50 east of Gatineau have animal fencing with these special "chutes" all along it.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...EwiUoL_PnPnwAhUTB50JHdoVBHwQMygBegQIARA-

Apparently it's something that is used in Scandinavia.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by Acajack

That's interesting. If true, I wonder if that's always been the case.

Because the 417 for a very long time (before the construction of the 416) was not connected any other 400-series highway.

Unless you counted a very circuitous route through Quebec via the A-40, A-540 (now the A-30) and the A-20, that technically linked it up to the 401.

Maybe there’s also the issue of contiguity at play. In the case of 417, the better example is that Whitefish Freeway in the SW corner of Sudbury is only signed 17 and not 417 because the rest is but a 2-lane road.
Ps: I wonder why 17 between Denlou and Lively was built as a divided freeway right from the get-go and not as a super-2. It’s nice, but I’m still curious, especially given that its AADT is <10K whereas some parts of the 2-lane SW Bypass has attained 13K.