401 Interchanges

[CanadianTalk]

CTV News just reported that the MTO awarded a bid to a contractor today to replace the Highbury Avenue interchange (as well as the Pond Mills Rd and rail overpasses). Construction could begin this year, and is estimated to be finished by 2027.

Will attach the link to the article when it's available.

[Djeffery]

Saw that story. Can only hope the city manages to synch up the rebuild of Highbury with the rebuilding of the overpass. What a cluster that area is going to be. I recall several years ago when it was first reported by the government that it would take 3 construction seasons. Given how much longer it seems to take nowadays to build an overpass than even 5 years ago when VMP was done, I guess 5 years is the new normal.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Saw that story. Can only hope the city manages to sync up the rebuild of Highbury with the rebuilding of the overpass. What a cluster that area is going to be.

Highbury's freeway makeover has been delayed due to cost overruns with the Adelaide Street underpass.

The concrete road base is at the end of it's life so it can't wait much longer. This isn't a simple resurfacing project... the plan is to spend one year to tear up one direction and put 2-way traffic in the other, and then do the opposite next year. The freeway is also planned to get *gasp* modern infrastructure like lighting, guardrails and proper merge lanes. Taking the Highbury loops to/from Commissioners in the dead of night is downright dangerous. The loops are too sharp and your headlights don't light the curves well.

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Back to the topic- you may as well do the Highbury interchange enhancement at the same time in my mind since all that staging work to get vehicles merged is kind of done already. That will also shorten the number of construction seasons needed - less headaches.

Once you have a link I'm curious to see the finalized design. I hope Highbury has 3 lanes on the new overpass so exiting traffic to the 401 can separate a bit more from the through traffic. I also wonder if the Pond Mills replacements will be wide enough for an extra lane or two on the 401 itself. At maximum I envision 4 lanes each way + an auxiliary lane between Wellington and Highbury to help with weaving.

With Highbury and Pond Mills done, in addition to the Digman Drive replacement currently underway, the 401 can be 8-laned from the 402 to the city limits. A few more bridge replacements to go to the east and then it can be 8 laned all the way to the 403!

[CanadianTalk]

Originally Posted by haljackey

Taking the Highbury loops to/from Commissioners in the dead of night is downright dangerous. The loops are too sharp and your headlights don't light the curves well...

No kidding! My commute involved that interchange (Commissioners to NB Highbury) daily for about a year, so I was very comfortable with taking that specific merge ... in daylight hours. I remember the first time I took that merge at night time, and I could not believe how unlit and dangerous it was, so I'm glad to hear that those issues will be addressed with the rebuild.

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Originally Posted by haljackey

Once you have a link I'm curious to see the finalized design. I hope Highbury has 3 lanes on the new overpass so exiting traffic to the 401 can separate a bit more from the through traffic. I also wonder of the Pond Mills replacements will be wide enough for an extra lane or two on the 401 itself. At maximum I envision 4 lanes each way + an auxiliary lane between Wellington and Highbury to help with weaving.

If I remember correctly, the new improvements will consist exactly of that (6 laning of Highbury, continuous merge lane from Highbury to Wellington/Exeter, etc). I could be wrong though. Usually with MTO projects, a website is set up by the contractor, so hopefully we can see that soon.

[CanadianTalk]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Saw that story. Can only hope the city manages to synch up the rebuild of Highbury with the rebuilding of the overpass. What a cluster that area is going to be. I recall several years ago when it was first reported by the government that it would take 3 construction seasons. Given how much longer it seems to take nowadays to build an overpass than even 5 years ago when VMP was done, I guess 5 years is the new normal.

Yeah, Highbury has definitely been super busy recently in terms of construction. There's that, plus there will be a complete rebuild of the Highbury and Hamilton corridor towards the end of the decade which will also be a construction nightmare. Not to mention that there will be BRT widening on Highbury between Dundas and Oxford (including the widening of the rail overpass) in a couple years.

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While it is nice to see this interchange being reconstructed. I wish the MTO would have focused on reconstructing the Highway 4 interchange first. I'm obviously not an engineer though so there could be a need to replace the Highbury bridge first (maybe its age or structural condition). The Highway 4 interchange is not safe, in my opinion, since the merging lanes are very short (which could pose a hazard for trucks). The interchange will be a lot busier next year when the Amazon centre opens. However, I am aware that these reconstruction projects are scheduled years in advance, so there was no way that the MTO could have predicted the redevelopment of the former Ford plant.

On a positive note though, it does look like the MTO is scheduling the Highway 4 interchange replacement project to be open for tenders in October, so hopefully we will see work on that interchange begin next year.

[haljackey]

The Highway 4/401 interchange has somehow escaped reconstruction year after year but yes I feel it's time is finally coming. With all the old 1950's overpasses replaced between the 402 and 403 finishing up, it's time to look west.

Despite the awful cloverleaf design with weird angles, the interchange seems to operate pretty well due to manageable traffic volumes. However with the rerouting of Highway 4 to run concurrent with the 401 between Wonderland and Colonel Talbot, and the Amazon facility regenerating some of the lost volume from the old Ford plant days, traffic is going to increase.

Regardless, the Highway 4 overpass needs to be replaced due to the (slowly) ongoing widening of the 401 between Tilbury and London. They could take out the loops to squeeze another lane under the existing structure like they did widening the 401 east of London, but since the structure's lifespan is ending soon you may as well replace it. Regardless, the nearby Glanworth Drive overpass needs to be removed or replaced (and that's been a debate for many years as well).

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Speaking of the 6 laning towards the 402, I think it was kind of short-sided to make the Wonderland interchange overpasses too narrow to support this config. Sure they left embankments for the eventual widening, but it would have been easier to just do it all at once to save another construction season - probably cheaper overall too. Guess they wanted Wonderland built as cheap as possible when it went in. It's current config is missing a couple ramps that were in the original design as well. Perhaps they can be added as part of the expansion but I doubt it.

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Originally Posted by CanadianTalk

No kidding! My commute involved that interchange (Commissioners to NB Highbury) daily for about a year, so I was very comfortable with taking that specific merge ... in daylight hours. I remember the first time I took that merge at night time, and I could not believe how unlit and dangerous it was, so I'm glad to hear that those issues will be addressed with the rebuild.

Add in some slippery rain/ice/snow in addition to the pitch blackness and its downright dangerous to take these loops at night. Even some newer vehicles with headlights that can move in the direction you're steering may not light the way due to the tight radius. Adding to this, you kind of need to 🞵🞵🞵 it at the end of the loop if you want to merge in at 100 since you can't really build up speed turning so tightly. I've seen many cars in the ditch here- either taking the curves too fast or trying to Tokyo Drift around the loops or something.

[Innsertnamehere]

I imagine the 401/4 interchange will get replaced as a part of the 6-laning work that is currently scheduled to start in "2024-2025".

[CanadianTalk]

Project website for Highway 401 and Highbury Avenue interchange replacement: www.hwy401highbury.ca

Detailed design has already commenced, with construction planned to start next year

[Djeffery]

4 year project. lol Yep, I need to move to Dorchester lol

[inimrepus]

Does anyone know why it would take 4 years? It seems like an insane amount of time.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by inimrepus

Does anyone know why it would take 4 years? It seems like an insane amount of time.

Probably due to them doing one replacement per year? I'm sure it's in the documents. There is some drainage work, Pond Mills, Highbury, CN overpasses plus ramp realignments between Highbury and 401.

There's lots to do, but 4 construction seasons to simply rehabilitate a short section of the 401 seems insane to me even with winter shutdowns. China be laughing at our face.

[Ryeguy01]

Well let’s not forget the fact that we are extremely low on trade workers. In 10 years 1/3 of the workforce will be retired. Average age for a trade worker is 40-50. Not enough young people are interested.

[CanadianTalk]

Here is the proposed interchange design for Highway 401 and Highbury Avenue. The biggest changes will be Highbury having six lanes over the 401.

The new southbound lane on Highbury will start just after the on-ramp for WB 401 and will pass the EB 401 on-ramp, and then finally end as a right-turn lane for Wilton Grove.

The new northbound lane will continue on from the lane that already exists from Wilton Grove to the Flying J, and will pass the EB 401 on-ramp, and then finally end as the on-ramp for WB 401.



Edit: It's worth mentioning that this diagram is from the EA addendum in 2012, so there could be changes when they do the detailed design this year.

[haljackey]

Cool pic- thanks for sharing.

I assume that's the ultimate build out plan. The 401 won't be widened as part of this project, for example.

For Highbury SB, it seems weird to have a new lane start after the WB onramp, and then have another lane for a dedicated EB onramp. Ideally I want to see both ramps begin before the traffic light so you aren't impeded to access 401 EB with a red light.

To demonstrate, here's something I built in SimCity 4. The NB ramps to the EB and WB highway bypass the intersection



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Not to go too off topic but I did replace that intersection with a flyover upon a rebuild

[Djeffery]

All you have to really do southbound, since they are building a new bridge, is make it a few feet wider to accommodate a median barrier to the right of the southbound lanes and put the EB ramp to the right of that barrier, so it doesn't have to stop for the light at the end of the WB ramp. You just have to make sure you leave the space for the left turn space for trucks as there is now, but if they revamp the whole exit anyway, they can probably design proper space for that at the outset. For that matter, since this all new, the new NB lane that exits WB could be set up the same way.

This doesn't get rid of the lights for through traffic on Highbury or for those making lefts at either exit, but unless you want to spend a boatload of money or make a big confusing mess, you aren't going to avoid it. But separating the onramps from the traffic lanes will help the flow through there.

[Dengler Avenue]

Given that MTO pretty much mandates free flowing interchanges between freeways (MTO Geometric Design Chapter F), I find this one weird. I mean, it was converted from a full cloverleaf, but some parts should have been uninterrupted.
Then again, a lot of interchange designs seem to rely heavily on judgment calls too. Those are just my understanding of the earlier part of that chapter.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Given that MTO pretty much mandates free flowing interchanges between freeways (MTO Geometric Design Chapter F), I find this one weird. I mean, it was converted from a full cloverleaf, but some parts should have been uninterrupted.
Then again, a lot of interchange designs seem to rely heavily on judgment calls too. Those are just my understanding of the earlier part of that chapter.

Ya both the 401/VMP and 401/Highbury interchanges should ideally be free-flowing. Two of them would be absurdly expensive to construct so I understand why they both aren't, but one of the two should be done.

Both interchanges deal with high speed traffic... Highbury's posted at 100, VMP at 90. There aren't any pedestrian requirements either- you gotta use the Pond Mills or Wellington crossings for walking/cycling.

A couple modifications to the current design could make 401/Highbury more free-flowing. But since this pic is from 2012, perhaps it's been updated in the decade since.

[Pimpmasterdac]

Being 10 years since the last design hopefully a free flowing SB Highbury at 401 gets incorporated into the interchange. 401 & Victoria Park Ave use to have this setup and it was a regular arterial road, not like Highbury where pedestrians are prohibited. I've attached a photo link to this previous setup http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/vintage/401/1989/Scarborough/401_242.jpg

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Given that MTO pretty much mandates free flowing interchanges between freeways (MTO Geometric Design Chapter F), I find this one weird. I mean, it was converted from a full cloverleaf, but some parts should have been uninterrupted.
Then again, a lot of interchange designs seem to rely heavily on judgment calls too. Those are just my understanding of the earlier part of that chapter.

Maybe that is from MTO freeway to MTO freeway, which Highbury isn't. Also, Highbury and VMP both drop to 70kmh when approaching the 401.

[ericmacm]

Saw a drill rig parked on the shoulder of the 401 at the Highbury interchange last night. Geotechnical/environmental assessment work is likely currently underway or will be very soon.