The 401

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by MoreTrains

I was more trying to say the widening hasnt been done all the way to the on/off ramps at 15.

But I am assuming in the future the 15 bridge will be replaced and widened to widen the 401 to the Husky at least.

Gotcha. I'm pretty sure any widening of the 15 overpass or of the highway itself anywhere east of this point is unfunded, unscheduled, and unplanned, possibly for a very long time.

[sonysnob]

Photo gallery from last summer of the construction project along Highway 401 through Cobourg. The highway is being widened through Cobourg and the Hwy 45 interchange is being extensively reconfigured:



The page is here:
http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...ons_images.htm

[haljackey]

More 401 widening for Cambridge

http://www.570news.com/2016/02/29/40...ee-more-years/

[sa230e]

Kind of off-topic but speaking of KW, what's the latest on the Hwy 7 freeway between Kitchener and Guelph? Wasn't that supposed to start construction this year?

[sonysnob]

I've no idea what the construction schedule for Hwy 7 will be, but I can confirm that no mainline contracts have been called as of yet.

The provincial budget only makes mention of funding "advanced work" for the project this year.

[HillStreetBlues]

Some work in Kitchener has already been undertaken near Wellington Street, where the new 7 will share an interchange with the 85. An overpass on Guelph Street was replaced; another bridge on Victoria will be replaced this year.

Re: 401 widening through Cambridge. As a resident of Waterloo Region, I wonder if we really need 10 lanes here. We couldn't be spending our provincial debt on something better- perhaps transit to alleviate 401 traffic that way?

[haljackey]

I think Highway 7 freeway discussion is on topic as it should help take some traffic away from the 401.

For the 10-lane widening, there will be 1 HOV lane per direction, so this could help out transit like GO buses.

[haljackey]

401 lane doubling in Mississauga begins

http://www.mississauga.com/news-stor...-401-widening/

[MolsonExport]

Person driving the wrong way on the 401

http://globalnews.ca/video/2615260/w...on-highway-401

[sonysnob]

A few pictures that I took of the recently reconstructed portion of the 401 through Tilbury a few weeks ago en route to Windsor:

[north 42]

^^^ I'm glad they're continuing with the concrete roadbed that was used on the the 401 in Essex County. I wonder why some parts of the 401 are asphalt and others concrete?

[sonysnob]

I think most (if not all) of the 401 through Chatham-Kent County will end up being reconstructed in concrete over the next decade or so.

The specific location within the province can have a significant impact on the cost of concrete. For example, I'm told that concrete is significantly more expensive in the Waterloo Region area than it is elsewhere in southwestern Ontario.

I too am happy to see this stretch constructed in concrete. This concrete is grooved longitudinally, much like the new concrete pavement on the Windsor-Essex Parkway, so it rides really smoothly.

[north 42]

It'll be really great once the whole 401 is upgraded to at least a 6 lane divided highway. Not sure when that is expected though, hopefully sooner rather than late!

[Blitz]

^ It's in the province's 50-year plan, lol

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by north 42

It'll be really great once the whole 401 is upgraded to at least a 6 lane divided highway. Not sure when that is expected though, hopefully sooner rather than late!

East of Kingston, and especially east of the 416, traffic counts are nowhere near enough to justify 6 laning.

A case could be made for 6 laning between Cobourg and Kingston in the medium term (say, gradually do it bit by bit with completion planned in 20-ish years), but even then, that's a bit much.

Given how expensive that would be, I'd like to see what could be done with transit alternatives like railway improvements first, before committing billions to rural widenings.

[Innsertnamehere]

^ that's essentially what the province is doing. They are currently looking at widening it through Belleville, which will probably then become between Trenton and Belleville.. And so on.

MTO is currently doing a complete rebuild of the highway near Chatham, so that part isn't going to be widened any time soon. I expect it'll stay pretty much as is for the next few decades west of Waterloo. It'll get widened from Waterloo into Toronto, and a couple of 6 leaning projects in the east, too.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

East of Kingston, and especially east of the 416, traffic counts are nowhere near enough to justify 6 laning.

A case could be made for 6 laning between Cobourg and Kingston in the medium term (say, gradually do it bit by bit with completion planned in 20-ish years), but even then, that's a bit much.

Given how expensive that would be, I'd like to see what could be done with transit alternatives like railway improvements first, before committing billions to rural widenings.

The trouble is truck traffic.

[1overcosc]

Spending billions to add a third lane just to deal with trucks passing each other, forcing traffic to slow down to 100km/h in both lanes (oh no, such a tragedy!) does not seem like an appropriate use of infrastructure dollars.

[sonysnob]

Spending Ontarian's fuel tax dollars on the upkeep and improvement to the highway 401 corridor is exactly what the province should be doing on the Kingston to Toronto corridor. Highway users are paying for the privilege of using the highway, and the province should maintain and widen the highway in accordance with traffic demands. Particularly in Northumberland County, traffic volumes really aren't that far away from requiring widening as it is.

Local transit improvements in any of the municipalities located between Oshawa and Kingston are going to have negligible impact to highway traffic along the 401. Realistically, almost everyone who can afford local travel by car throughout Oshawa to Kingston corridor are going to do so regardless of any improvements to local transit.

Should the province pursue high speed rail, I don't see that really having much of an impact on highway traffic either. The fares to use the rail would be much more akin to flying than to driving, so passenger increases to the train are much more likely to come at the expense of air travel rather than highway travel.

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Spending billions to add a third lane just to deal with trucks passing each other, forcing traffic to slow down to 100km/h in both lanes (oh no, such a tragedy!) does not seem like an appropriate use of infrastructure dollars.

The amount of truck traffic I deal with on a weekend between Kingston and Napanee (Im sure it continues but I dont drive any further than that) is pretty heavy. And forcing traffic to slow down to 100 is not the issue, it is when they force traffic down to 80, which is very frequent.

I dont necessarily think that we need to add in a third lane, but something needs to be done about trucks. All trucks are limited to 110, which means they shouldnt be able to pass eachother (I know some are limited lower). So either remove the limiter, or remove the ability to pass. That would free up movement in the more congested areas and cost much less.