Highways in Canada

[SignalHillHiker]

Montreal needs one of these.

• Video Link

[Horus]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

its largely supporting sprawl. you can already see them clearing some fields for subdivisions in the middle image. There is a large new urbanist community planned around Queensville.

That Queensville plan has been "in planning" for the past 25 years or so. I don't think the extension of the highway was the thing holding it back.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

concrete.

I think the bBlack markings are to make the white line markings on top of them easier to see on the white concrete. May be wrong on that one though, it isn't consistent throughout the MTO highway network. (410 and 401 outside of windsor are both concrete and don't have them, as well as the 407)

Similiar situation with Highway 417 from St. Isidore to Hawkesbury, which AFAIK is the only concrete highway in Ontario east of the GTA. White lines.

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by Horus

That Queensville plan has been "in planning" for the past 25 years or so. I don't think the extension of the highway was the thing holding it back.

Plus, the real constraints of building such a subdivision are sewer and water lines, not a highway.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by Horus

That Queensville plan has been "in planning" for the past 25 years or so. I don't think the extension of the highway was the thing holding it back.

yes, but the justification of the highway was to support that community as well as the planned expansion of Keswick. It was obviously just a single component of the infrastructure required to support the new town, but is a key one nonetheless.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

Most US cities were developed based on an extensive highway system, contrary to Montréal where they had to integrate a complex highway system into an already well developed city. Décarie is the best example.

The only good example of a true "urban" freeway under MTO control I can think of is Highway 417 through central Ottawa.

[Innsertnamehere]

Highway 8 in Kitchener as well right before it meets 7.

[BretttheRiderFan]

Highway 43 is now twinned the entire way from Grande Prairie to where it meets up with the Yellowhead just west of Stony Plain.

They had been working on twinning the portion within the Sturgeon Lake First Nation for many years.

[haljackey]

New photos of the 401 extension / Windsor Essex Parkway / Right Honourable Herb Gray Parkway.

The project has now been going on for 3 full years.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hgparkway/

[leftimage]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Nice, thanks for the heads up on that!

In Canada, Montreal by far has the most urban feeling highway network, with all of its bridges, tunnels, cuts, viaducts, etc... So for me, its highways are also the most interesting in the country.

Toronto has the most massive freeways by far, which are very impressive, and it does have the gardner, but outside of that they are largely built like typical American suburban highways, with large grass embankments and a limited use of viaducts, bridges, tunnels, etc... Many of the interchanges sprawl out over a lot of green space and many of the fly overs are again built up on dirt mounds for much of their length.

The interchange / set up near the airport is by far Toronto's most impressive piece of highway infrastructure IMO, real fly overs and staked roadway.

As for western Canada.

Calgary and Edmonton are tied IMO for how impressive their highway networks are, but again they are mostly very suburban in feel with large grass embankments and dirt mound fly overs with sprawling interchanges.

The most impressive highway in western Canada now is the #1 from the Iron Workers bridge to 200th st. in Langley. I know everyone loves to bitch about highways in BC and Vancouver, but this stretch of the #1 is indeed quite impressive now (two massive bridges, an urban tunnel, and a couple impressive interchanges and fly overs). The Port Mann Bridge and Cape Horn interchange is by far the most impressive piece of highway in western Canada now IMO.

Other highways in Vancouver though really need some work (and son it looks like the 99 will get it!)

The most impressive fly over in western Canada though is definitely the GEW to 200 St. south on the GEB viaduct. That fly over soars up super high and looks like it is out of Japan.

This is the type of post I love to read on here. Thanks for the knowledge and insight

[Metro-One]

Hey thanks man.

That makes me super happy to hear that

I don't have a good photo of it myself, but here a decent google maps screen shot I took of the GEW to 200th street overpass. It is stacked overtop of an elevated viaduct and has a pretty cool bank. Probably the most fun ramp to drive on in Western Canada.



The views from the ramp are also pretty amazing and the industrial activity at ground level adds to the big highway feel

I know I am the minority on this forum but I still think that the GEW between the Lougheed highway at the north end and the 92 street traffic light at the south end is the best piece of highway built in western Canada recently. It extensively uses viaducts and ramps, it has a very Asian feel to it IMO (and I prefer the slower, tighter curved Asian highways with significant grade separation than the sprawling American style highways). Again, just my opinion, but for a suburban location I feel that the GEW has a big city feel.

Here are some pics of the project from the north to the south that I took a few years ago:













I don't know why, but the pic above always gives me a Terminator 2 LA vibe, hehe. I think its the jeep, the sky, and the old truck.



Even the bike ramp feels akin to the bridge bike ramps here in Japan.

Sorry for spamming the thread with some of my old pictures!

[Acajack]

OK, was thinking about provincial highway shields. Post yours and see which ones people like best!

Quebec autoroute shield:



Quebec shield for other highways:

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by Acajack

OK, was thinking about provincial highway shields. Post yours and see which ones people like best!

Here's NB, where we have a nice system of which signs to use, the best one I think.

Primary highways (1-99)





TCH Routes (Primary, only includes 2 and 16)





Secondary Routes 100-199



Local Routes (200-999)

[Innsertnamehere]

Nova Scotia highway 333 just north of Peggys cove:

[sonysnob]

Some pictures of construction projects ongoing in Southwestern Ontario:

High mast lighting is going up on Hwy 7/8 at the Fischer/Hallman Road interchange in Kitchener:






The new Westminster Drive overpass near London is nearing completion:


Structural steel for the new Speedsville Road overpass has been erected in Cambridge:

[MolsonExport]

KWC's network of freeways is incredible stacked up to the lack thereof in London.

[Horus]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

Some pictures of construction projects ongoing in Southwestern Ontario:

High mast lighting is going up on Hwy 7/8 at the Fischer/Hallman Road interchange in Kitchener:

I moved away from Waterloo Region before they made the adjustments to the interchange configuration at 7/8 and F-H. I can only assume that the new on-ramp from F-H n/b has made a world of difference there, and at the F-H/Ottawa St intersection?

[haljackey]

Is it just me or these overpasses going up really quick?

Guess I'm used to long construction projects when a new bridge is built next to an existing one to limit construction disruption.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

KWC's network of freeways is incredible stacked up to the lack thereof in London.

Is there any reason for the huge disparity in highway networks between KW and London?

They are in the same region, in the same province, around the same size, yet one has a kick ass freeway network, and the other has, well, none really.

Although the winner for worst highway network in the country is still Winnipeg IMO.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Is there any reason for the huge disparity in highway networks between KW and London?

They are in the same region, in the same province, around the same size, yet one has a kick ass freeway network, and the other has, well, none really.

Although the winner for worst highway network in the country is still Winnipeg IMO.

I can't speak for Waterloo Region, but for London it was a lack of political willpower to build highways.

The 401 was designed to bypass the city to the south, however it was projected that London would grow southward, when in fact it grew northward.

The 402 was supposed to run north of the city, but that was getting too close to many of the city's wealthiest residents (who live in the north) who lobbied against it, so it got built south of the city, bypassing it like the 401.

The Highbury Avenue Expressway was supposed to run along the Thames river into the city centre. It only got built to the river where it now transitions to a congested 4-lane road. I think it was a good idea not to build it in the river floodplain, as it could flood like Toronto's Don Valley Parkway.
-Later plans saw it run north through the city, but by then much of the road had development on it or nearby which would need to be demolished. Plans were again shelved.

Highway 100 / Airport Road / Veterans Memorial Parkway was eventually going to be a freeway, but the province 'downloaded' it to the city in 1997 to save on maintenance costs. The city eventually twinned it, but at-grade intersections remain. Long term 'visions' show the highway extended and grade-separated by the 2070's.

There is a corridor protected in London's west end for a possible freeway, but I'm betting if anything is ever built it will be an at-grade 2 or 4 lane road.

-----

Trust me, there is much more behind London's scrapped freeway plans. You'd think the city would have better roads/transit due to the fact it didn't pay to build / maintain a freeway network, but alas this far from reality.

We ain't got nothin compared to Waterloo Region, but at least we got more going on than Winnipeg!