The 401

[sonysnob]

Shouldn't be a big deal to widen it when the time comes. Filling in the median should be able to be accomplished with little disruption to existing traffic, much like how the work to fill in the median on the 407 across Toronto was accomplished.

[Innsertnamehere]

isn't AADT only in the mid 20,000's? Widening of that stretch based on demand would be a while away, I think. I believe the only reason MTO widened the 401 east of there was due to the unusually thin median that needed a barrier, so they just widened the highway to fix it.

[sonysnob]

I think there was some political pressure to be seen upgrading the road as well following the incident in 1999.

Amazing, the QEW between Niagara Falls and Fort Erie still has the same width of grassed median without any median guide rail.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

isn't AADT only in the mid 20,000's? Widening of that stretch based on demand would be a while away, I think. I believe the only reason MTO widened the 401 east of there was due to the unusually thin median that needed a barrier, so they just widened the highway to fix it.

Issue here is that a much higher percent of that AADT is truck traffic. Having a lane that's restricted from 18-wheelers does wonders.

The drive between Woodstock and Kitchener is much easier / less stressful after this stretch was 6-laned. I would assume that the Chatham-London stretch sees similar truck volumes.

[sonysnob]

Instead of beating the dead horse that is London to Tilbury, here's a warranted widening. Cambridge:

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

I think there was some political pressure to be seen upgrading the road as well following the incident in 1999.

Yep. Lots of political pressure.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by haljackey

This construction is taking place right where the highway narrows from 6 to 4 lanes. Why not use this opportunity to not just reconstruct but widen the highway as well?

Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through knowing that maybe 10-15 years from now the highway might be 6-laned through Chatham-Kent.


Drove through this during the weekend. Speed limit is 80, but there was line of traffic riding my behind doing 99. (Eventually got behind a slow truck anyway.)

Some of the sections are narrow... wide trucks are getting stuck: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windso...mber-1.3181228

I could be wrong but it looks as though they laid down concrete where the existing road is and they will fill in the centre, add a lane, shoulder and tall wall there as well.

[sonysnob]

^ They are just replacing what was already existing. No new lanes or median changes.

Here's the official website about the project:
http://hwy401reconstruction.ca/about-the-project/

[HillStreetBlues]

Originally Posted by haljackey

Issue here is that a much higher percent of that AADT is truck traffic. Having a lane that's restricted from 18-wheelers does wonders.

The drive between Woodstock and Kitchener is much easier / less stressful after this stretch was 6-laned. I would assume that the Chatham-London stretch sees similar truck volumes.

I think that's probably not the case. You must be right that a (maybe much) higher proportion of the traffic is truck, but I think the absolute volume of truck traffic is a fair shade higher east of London on the 401 than west. The 402 would take some of that traffic, some of it terminates or originates in London.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by HillStreetBlues

I think that's probably not the case. You must be right that a (maybe much) higher proportion of the traffic is truck, but I think the absolute volume of truck traffic is a fair shade higher east of London on the 401 than west. The 402 would take some of that traffic, some of it terminates or originates in London.

I'm thinking truck volumes are similar on the 401 west of the 402 compared to east of the 403. Between 402 and 403 truck traffic is very high and 6 lanes are very useful on this stretch. I believe one day it might even be 8-laned (at least through the London area east of 402), but with the province's commitment to invest in high-speed rail this might not materialize... Although I have yet to see concrete plans for HSR, but that's another for another thread.

-----

I think a few projects are wrapping up before the snow falls:
-Extension from E.C Row Expressway to Ojibway Parkway in Windsor (was reported 90% complete in June)
-New Wonderland Road interchange in London (final paving underway, line markings started... think that's it!)
-Eastbound Collector rehab around Allen Road in Toronto (can't seem to find any recent news about this)

-----

Also on Oct 30 there will be a CBC Marketplace story about speeding on the 401: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/market...mits-1.3292975

[sonysnob]

I had a friend of mine who works for MTO provide me with some traffic data for the 401 in Southwestern Ontario.

I looked at data from three locations along the 401 in Southwestern Ontario. The data is comprised of one way traffic counts broken down by vehicle class and by time of day. I analyzed summer data for all three locations, which probably slightly exaggerates the percentage of passenger vehicles using the highway compared to trucks. Because all of the data is from the summer, I doubt that would do much to skew the results.

The three spots that I looked at were:
- west of Hwy 4 in London (2013 data)
- east of Dorchester Road (2014 data)
- west of Waterloo Road 97 (2014 data).

West of Hwy 4 (West of London), the average summer one way traffic comprised of 12,962 total one way vehicles, of which 9,100 were passenger cars, and 3,862 were trucks. So, that's 70.2% cars, and 29.8% trucks.

East of Dorchester Road (East of London), the average summer one way traffic comprised of 35,852 total one way vehicles, of which 28,049 were passenger cars, and 7,803 were trucks. So that's 78.2% cars, and 21.8% trucks.

West of Cedar Creek Road (Woodstock to Cambridge), the average summer one way traffic comprised of 23,834 total one way vehicles, of which 16,423 were passenger cars, and 7,411 were trucks. So that's 69% cars, and 31% trucks.

To summarize then, in general, Hwy 401 is almost twice as busy east of Woodstock than it is west of London. The traffic make-up is proportionally fairly similar with only a slightly higher proportion of trucks compared to total volume to the east of Woodstock than to the west of London. Hwy 401 is almost twice as busy (with over twice the truck traffic) to the east of Woodstock compared to the west of London. In terms of sheer numbers, the highest volume of truck traffic along the 401 is located between London and Woodstock, though this same section has the lowest percentage of truck traffic compared to total traffic along the highway.

Considering that the 401 was just widened to the east of Woodstock within the past decade, the traffic volumes show that it remained as a four lane highway (two lanes per direction) until it had almost double the traffic that the 401 currently has to the west of London before it was widened to six lanes.

[MolsonExport]

To summarize then, in general, Hwy 401 is almost twice as busy east of Woodstock than it is west of London.

Totally consistent with my anecdotal impressions.

[haljackey]

401 / Wonderland Road interchange opens

http://london.ctvnews.ca/wonderland-...pens-1.2655041

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by haljackey

401 / Wonderland Road interchange opens

http://london.ctvnews.ca/wonderland-...pens-1.2655041

The accompanying photo spites the headline.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

The accompanying photo spites the headline.

The London Free Press did a better job

http://www.lfpress.com/2015/11/12/ne...road-in-london

[haljackey]

Drone footage of Highway 401 near the Don Valley Parkway / Highway 404 interchange.

• Video Link

• Video Link

[MolsonExport]

wish i was driving that night. rarely does traffic flow that smoothy on the monster.

[sonysnob]

MTO is launching a preliminary design study to widen the 401 to six lanes through Belleville. Construction is probably at least several years away, but it's still news:

The two studies are as follows:
GWP 4193-15-00: Highway 401 Preliminary Design and Environmental Assessment (Group B) for expansion to 6-lane (interim) and 8-lane (future) configuration within the study limits and within the existing 401 corridor. There are three (3) existing interchanges within the project limits at Wallbridge-Loyalist Road, Highway 62 and Highway 37. There are six (6) existing structures within the study limits at Wallbridge-Loyalist Road, Sidney Street, Highway 62, Moira River, Highway 37 and CNR. The existing Highway 62 and Highway 37 interchanges are very close in proximity with continuous ramps for acceleration and deceleration. Part of the study will include analysis of options for addressing the continuous ramps with the goal of bringing the interchanges to a configuration in accordance with the Corridor Access Guidelines. In addition, the City of Belleville’s Transportation Master Plan shows a new interchange proposed for the east end of the industrial park, the Belleville East Arterial Road, this proposed interchange shall also be included in the preliminary design study. As part of the generation and analysis of options under the preliminary design study, additional service roads and active transportation needs will be considered as well as impacts to the existing and planned Belleville road network. The study shall also recommend implementation and phasing for detail design and construction that shall take into consideration the remaining lifespans of the existing structures, and traffic and operational needs.

GWP4194-15-00: Highway 62 Preliminary Design and Environmental Assessment (Group B) for rehabilitation (interim) and replacement (ultimate) for the Norris Whitney Bridge. This structure is approximately 0.9 km in length and is a skyway connection between the City of Belleville and Prince Edward County. It has current traffic volumes that require maintenance to only be carried out in a very short window and therefore poses a challenge for major rehabilitation of the structure. This structure is one of only of 4 connections to Prince Edward County and therefore a major link for traffic. The preliminary design study will include data collection for traffic information and examine options to permit rehabilitation and/or replacement of the structure. The preliminary design shall be developed so that if any designation and property acquisition is required it can be carried out following the study completion.

[1overcosc]

Belleville is the only difficult piece of the highway between Kingston and Cobourg; per kilometre, it's probably by far the most expensive to 6-lane. The rest will be fairly simple when the time comes.

[MolsonExport]

Can't wait for 401 to be 6+ lanes through to the Quebec border. Well, at least from London eastwards.