Highways in Canada

[sonysnob]

Gallery of photos showing the Turcot interchange reconstruction just outside of Downtown Montreal:

http://www.fotoimage.ca/p146446169/h7573761F#h7573761f

[MolsonExport]

the old turcot was the most bad-assed interchange in Canada. Didn't work, perplexingly complicated, roads on the wrong side...but bad-assed nevertheless.

[MolsonExport]

damn there are a lot of beautiful drives in Quebec and Newfoundland. Alas, most Ontario roadscapes are butt-ugly sprawlsville or boring farmology. Except maybe the Trans-Canada hugging Lake Superior

[SignalHillHiker]

Lake Superior drive was great.

When I moved to Kenora, my Dad and I drove from St. John's to there. Took three days. Rural Quebec and Lake Superior were his favourite parts.

Mine was that elevated highway in Montreal.

[sonysnob]

Some photos of Autoroute 55 in the Eastern Townships of Quebec:





















These were taken in October, 2014.
The whole set can be found here:
http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/PQ/A/55/Page1.html

[Marshal]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

damn there are a lot of beautiful drives in Quebec and Newfoundland. Alas, most Ontario roadscapes are butt-ugly sprawlsville or boring farmology. Except maybe the Trans-Canada hugging Lake Superior

We have driven different rural Ontarios.

[TownGuy]

I find rural Ontario fascinating. The farms are ever evolving with the seasons, little towns and villages dot the landscape everywhere. Perhaps he has that view because the southwest tends to be a little flat. Here in Northumberland County it's rolling hills everywhere.

[ssiguy]

Ya, I don't know which Ontario you live in MoldonExport.

Some beautiful country roads and more than anywhere else, beautiful little towns and villages. You can crive for days in Ontario and never come across the same town once. I don't think you appreciate how beautiful Ontario towns particularly compared to towns in Western Canada where most places are one horse towns with no architecture and mobile homes for days. Also most rural areas in the West have cheap wood or vinyl siding not the beautiful stone and brick you find in Ontario.

You don't appreciate how neat and tidy rural Ontario is until you go to Western Canada

[MolsonExport]

Well, I can, as I lived for years in both Alberta and BC. BC has achingly beautiful drives; and so does parts of Alberta. Small towns? yes, Ontario does them well. But I was speaking of boring 400-series highways, and lets be frank: the surrounding territories are rather dull.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

damn there are a lot of beautiful drives in Quebec and Newfoundland. Alas, most Ontario roadscapes are butt-ugly sprawlsville or boring farmology. Except maybe the Trans-Canada hugging Lake Superior

That's just the 401 in Southwestern Ontario. I used to think the same when I lived in London, but when you move out you realize it's really just London. Driving out from Toront the drives are much nicer. The drive up north to Sudbury and out east to Kingston and beyond are quite nice. The QEW is a bit of a bore, but the country roads down that way are great too. The drive up to Bruce is also much nicer from Toronto, though you pass some nice beach towns on your way from London.

[TownGuy]

Major highways are always going to be more boring. They're routed around ease of construction and speed. The most boring route is always going to win out. Think if the 401 hugged the shores of Lake Ontario/Erie. It could be quite dramatic.

[Marshal]

Autobahns

I have driven 9 provinces, 70% of the interstate network, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and UK, Neth/Bel., France Spain, Port., Italy, Poland, Denmark, Finland - a lot of places except Newfoundland. But not Germany or Austria.

I've just driven southern Germany/Austria Slovakia, and the Autobahns in the first two were an experience. But not the one I thought I would get.

The appearance of the road seemed like a normal dual carriage, perhaps one can tell the bend radii were large, sometimes there was a concrete curb/gutter on the inside - but generally unremarkable.

What is remarkable is the sensation of speed. Coasting at 160 felt unremarkable; but at +200 it didn't feel any faster save for how quickly one was passing the slow lane drivers. Also, everyone drove properly, right lane, except to pass, only staying in the left lane while in a lineup that was trying to pass, and all trucks/slow pokes in right lane only. I have driven over 800 km (cancelled my ZHR-VIE flight and drove it via Munich/Dachau) and have seen just one impatient driver pass on the right to jump a line. Everyone drove with a high degree of predictability, and that made the speeds feel safe . . . along with how smooth the pavement was in every way.

Problem was construction/reconstruction/maintenance: we were slowed to 60, 40 repeatedly for this. Every 20 -40 km there was work; and I mean something like 1-15 times between Zurich and Munich. It was crazy: slow, accelerate flat out, 200, and back to 60; repeat. Germany had a variable speed sign ever couple of kilometers the whole way. Much the same through Austria: 200 with 3 lanes, slam on the brakes to 60 and less than a full lane.

As an aside: in Vienna the amount of street construction is equally omnipresent (buildings too, lots being built, more being repaired.): if I lived hear, it would absolutely push me on to the trains (inter city and urban)

There were barrier walls along the highways out in the country. Here and there in Germany, but in Austria the entire length of E60 had them: the ugliest most disjointed constructions possible: concrete, metal, wood. It was as if every municipality came up with their own ideas and a single national department designed them individually with the design talent of a child without design talent. Didn't bother me; anything different is interesting. But, to live with it? I don't know.

A couple of oddities:
- the freeway through Switzerland (#1) does not actually connect up directly with the Austrian E60 near Bregenz. Needed a tangle of little roads and city streets to get through there.
- I preferred the Austrian autobahn.
- the Munich bypass has no southern link for 96 to 8.
- fewer lanes than I expected everywhere (2 lanes in the Munich ring (?)).
- on ramps/off ramps, interchange loops, etc. were variable (good & bad).
- the main route from Bratislava to Bucharest has 2 lane sections in it.
- pavement in the cities can be a shockingly rough patchwork.

Sum: while we all see the inferiority of our highways, I think, depending exactly where, everyone has their points of frustration and complaint. And it is difficult to keep yourself objective. For me, if Hwy 1 was redone to 3 lanes out to Chilliwack/Hope, Vancouver - Kamloops would be close, if a bit slower in the valley, to what Munich or Vienna have.

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Well, I can, as I lived for years in both Alberta and BC. BC has achingly beautiful drives; and so does parts of Alberta. Small towns? yes, Ontario does them well. But I was speaking of boring 400-series highways, and lets be frank: the surrounding territories are rather dull.

The 401 thru Northumberland county is rather nice.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by theman23

That's just the 401 in Southwestern Ontario. I used to think the same when I lived in London, but when you move out you realize it's really just London. Driving out from Toront the drives are much nicer. The drive up north to Sudbury and out east to Kingston and beyond are quite nice. The QEW is a bit of a bore, but the country roads down that way are great too. The drive up to Bruce is also much nicer from Toronto, though you pass some nice beach towns on your way from London.

Regarding the 401, I disagree about it being interesting east of Toronto. The only interesting bit scenery-wise is when the Canadian Shield drops down for about 5-10 minutes of the drive in the area of the Thousand Islands. As another poster said, it would be interesting if you could see Lake Ontario for some of the drive but you can't - unless you crane your neck and look in the right direction for that split second where it might be in view east of Toronto.

The 400 doesn't really get interesting scenery-wise until you get well north of Barrie.

The 417 and 416 are ultra-boring as well.

BTW, the autoroutes between Montreal and Quebec City aren't great either, especially the A-20 which is extremely boring between the two cities. The A-40 on the north shore of the St. Lawrence is a bit better scenery-wise.

But yeah, the A-20 east of Quebec City is a nice drive. As is the A-15 into the Laurentians and the A-10 east to Sherbrooke. The A-50 from Gatineau to Mirabel is nice too.

[dmuzika]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Well, I can, as I lived for years in both Alberta and BC. BC has achingly beautiful drives; and so does parts of Alberta. Small towns? yes, Ontario does them well. But I was speaking of boring 400-series highways, and lets be frank: the surrounding territories are rather dull.

I agree with another poster where due to their construction, freeways generally have less scenery than their two lane counterparts. The Coquihalla in BC has pretty decent scenery, especially between Merritt and Hope, but if you really want scenery and have the extra time, take TCH 1 through the Fraser Canyon.

[dmuzika]

Another summer, another article calling for the Trans-Canada Highway to be improved.

Milke: Trans-Canada Highway should be more than a 1960s-era goat trail
Mark Milke for the Calgary Herald

The German chancellor Otto von Bismarck once unfavourably compared the making of laws with sausage making. His quip was that it was better not to see the ingredients that go into either.

That caveat should be applied to other aspects of governance, such as how our tax dollars are spent in ways that are unhelpful to our daily lives, including our vacations.

...

...the Trans-Canada, and for much of it, one yet traverses a two-lane highway built in the period when Elvis Presley, and later, the Beatles, were chart-toppers.

http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columni...ould-be-more-than-a-1960s-era-goat-trail

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Marshal

Autobahns

I have driven 9 provinces, 70% of the interstate network, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and UK, Neth/Bel., France Spain, Port., Italy, Poland, Denmark, Finland - a lot of places except Newfoundland. But not Germany or Austria.

I've just driven southern Germany/Austria Slovakia, and the Autobahns in the first two were an experience. But not the one I thought I would get.

The appearance of the road seemed like a normal dual carriage, perhaps one can tell the bend radii were large, sometimes there was a concrete curb/gutter on the inside - but generally unremarkable.

What is remarkable is the sensation of speed. Coasting at 160 felt unremarkable; but at +200 it didn't feel any faster save for how quickly one was passing the slow lane drivers. Also, everyone drove properly, right lane, except to pass, only staying in the left lane while in a lineup that was trying to pass, and all trucks/slow pokes in right lane only. I have driven over 800 km (cancelled my ZHR-VIE flight and drove it via Munich/Dachau) and have seen just one impatient driver pass on the right to jump a line. Everyone drove with a high degree of predictability, and that made the speeds feel safe . . . along with how smooth the pavement was in every way.

Problem was construction/reconstruction/maintenance: we were slowed to 60, 40 repeatedly for this. Every 20 -40 km there was work; and I mean something like 1-15 times between Zurich and Munich. It was crazy: slow, accelerate flat out, 200, and back to 60; repeat. Germany had a variable speed sign ever couple of kilometers the whole way. Much the same through Austria: 200 with 3 lanes, slam on the brakes to 60 and less than a full lane.

As an aside: in Vienna the amount of street construction is equally omnipresent (buildings too, lots being built, more being repaired.): if I lived hear, it would absolutely push me on to the trains (inter city and urban)

There were barrier walls along the highways out in the country. Here and there in Germany, but in Austria the entire length of E60 had them: the ugliest most disjointed constructions possible: concrete, metal, wood. It was as if every municipality came up with their own ideas and a single national department designed them individually with the design talent of a child without design talent. Didn't bother me; anything different is interesting. But, to live with it? I don't know.

A couple of oddities:
- the freeway through Switzerland (#1) does not actually connect up directly with the Austrian E60 near Bregenz. Needed a tangle of little roads and city streets to get through there.
- I preferred the Austrian autobahn.
- the Munich bypass has no southern link for 96 to 8.
- fewer lanes than I expected everywhere (2 lanes in the Munich ring (?)).
- on ramps/off ramps, interchange loops, etc. were variable (good & bad).
- the main route from Bratislava to Bucharest has 2 lane sections in it.
- pavement in the cities can be a shockingly rough patchwork.

Sum: while we all see the inferiority of our highways, I think, depending exactly where, everyone has their points of frustration and complaint. And it is difficult to keep yourself objective. For me, if Hwy 1 was redone to 3 lanes out to Chilliwack/Hope, Vancouver - Kamloops would be close, if a bit slower in the valley, to what Munich or Vienna have.

and those bloody Germans have never heard of driving over the speed limit.

I find Ontarians, etc. up to speed and nearly indistinguishable to the Euros with 2 lanes. It's when you add a 3 lanes that things get confused. My first experience in Austria was weaving back and on precarious mountain passes; better than any amusement park ride. Alas, tunnels and bridges were built a few years later straightening out the roads to my Uncle's delight but, just bringing boredom to me.

[Marshal]

German drivers: confusing: people who can drive as fast as their cars will go, also happy and willing to drive 30Km/hr for 5 km in a long line.

I have been interested in the driving habits/flow here on 4 lane freeways because Vancouver is seemingly trying to figure this out since the Hwy 1 rebuild.

In Vancouver: centre lane is HOV, next lane is faster/passing + going slow and blocking; next lane is average speed/all purpose lane; and outside lane is slow/exiting/merging.

Here: centre lane is for ripping along, next lane is fast/passing, next lane is average/passing, outside lane is slow/exiting/merging. Overall feels more fluid, but then the range of speeds is greater, and there is effectively an extra lane. BUT, also: all four lanes are for slamming your brakes on to merge to two lanes inside the cities, or to one lane for construction.

[ssiguy]

That sounds about right for Vancouver but Vancouverites and BCers in general drive painfully slower than do Ontarians and Quebecers.

[Infrequent Poster]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

That sounds about right for Vancouver but Vancouverites and BCers in general drive painfully slower than do Ontarians and Quebecers.

Could this be in part to the roads in Vancouver/BC, built to a lower standard then in Quebec and Ontario?

Im not sure about Quebec, but Ontario roads seem to have wider shoulders , longer merge lengths, better designed interchanges etc. All things which one would think would lead to people driving faster aand safer. In my opinion.