Ontario Highways

[ericmacm]

Looking good. I am excited to see the second phase start, and hopefully see some plans emerge for the last stretch of twinning or potential new alignment to Leamington.

It honestly feels strange seeing an elevated grade separation along this highway. I used to drive it all the time and it is just so damn flat out there.

[swimmer_spe]

Will that be the new approach to the new bridge to the USA?

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Will that be the new approach to the new bridge to the USA?

Nah this is just highway 3 around town of Essex. It’s just an overpass though. There’s still a cross road ahead.

[sonysnob]

This is the only overpass along Highway 3. The town of Essex is about a third of the way from Windsor easterly to Leamington. The province has slowly been four-laning Highway 3 easterly from Windsor to so far Essex over the past decade or so. Over the next few years, I expect the province to complete the twinned highway the rest of the way to Leamington.

[sonysnob]

Hwy 11 crossing the Severn Canal at the northern end of Lake Couchiching:


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_1...ct22_24x16.jpg

[sonysnob]

The 400 at the 407:


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...ct22_24x16.jpg

[sonysnob]

The freeman interchange:


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/QEW_i...0297_24x16.jpg

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

The freeman interchange:

Freeman?

[sonysnob]

403 and QEW in Burlington.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

403 and QEW in Burlington.

I figured it was in the Hamilton area. Where does that name come from?

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

I figured it was in the Hamilton area. Where does that name come from?

They found a green mushroom while digging the foundation.

---

In all seriousness- great pic, thanks for sharing!

[sonysnob]

Freeman was the name of a small hamlet located on the southeastern side of the interchange. Freeman has subsequently been enveloped into Burlington.

[ScreamingViking]

Yep. And what's at this link jives with that, and what I've read elsewhere.

https://www.neighbourhoodguide.com/h...eeman-village/

Originally the QEW followed the route of Plains Rd. right past that village.
https://www.thekingshighway.ca/PHOTOS/QEWphotos.htm


"Aerial view of the Burlington Canadian National Railway (CNR) Subway on the Middle Road & Hwy 25 between Campbell's Corners and Freeman, facing east towards Toronto. This structure was built in 1936 over the widened dual highway. Note the end of the four-lane divided pavement just east of the subway, which was constructed under Contract #1936-73. In 1937, this divided concrete pavement was completed between Burlington (Freeman) and Port Credit. This CNR subway still stands today on a bypassed section of the highway (Plains Road) near the Mapleview Shopping Centre in Burlington. This section of Plains Road used to be a part of the Queen Elizabeth Way up until 1958, when a new diversion was opened to traffic which provided an improved link to the new Burlington Skyway. Photo taken in 1936."

Further down that webpage there's a photo of the original interchange that connected that part of the QEW to the section leading to the Skyway and the highway through Niagara.


"Aerial view of the New Niagara Falls Highway Junction on the Middle Road & Hwy 25 near Burlington in 1937, facing northeast. Constructed in 1936, the Burlington Interchange was actually Ontario's first grade-separated highway interchange. This "trumpet" interchange was fully opened to traffic in the summer of 1937, several months prior to the completion of the more famous Port Credit Cloverleaf west of Toronto. In the late 1950s, the Queen Elizabeth Way was realigned onto a new diversion around the community of Freeman. The present day location of the Freeman Interchange (Junction of QEW, Hwy 403 & Hwy 407 ETR) can be found at the extreme upper left corner of this photo. The present day location of the Burlington IKEA store can be found where the farm is situated in the bottom left corner, while the Mapleview Shopping Centre is located in the upper right corner of this photo. The old interchange was taken out of service gradually starting in 1958. The last remnants of the old Burlington Interchange were demolished to make way for the construction of the new Fairview Street Interchange in 1984. Note the incredibly low traffic volumes on the highway during the 1930s! Photo taken in 1937."


https://www.thekingshighway.ca/ is an excellent history of Ontario highways, with many many MANY photos. I've spent a lot of time perusing it!

[sonysnob]

Drone shot of the 407 at the 427:


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...0397_24x16.jpg

[Dengler Avenue]

It felt like a missed opportunity to convert one (or both) of the loops to flyover ramps.

[Innsertnamehere]

the volumes really just don't need it, especially given that it's the 407.

If any 407 loop ramps need converting, it's the 407 / 404 ramps, which actually handles fairly significant volumes.

Generally though the 407 freeway connections are far, far overbuilt given the lower volumes the freeway handles due to it's toll road nature. As impressive as the 407/400 interchange is, it's almost comically over capacity.

[sonysnob]

The loop ramps at the 407/427 interchange are pretty tight, though I'm not sure it could ever be economically feasible to replace them with proper flyovers. At least the loops at the 404 (and 410 for that matter) have much larger curve radii, even if they carry more traffic.

Braided ramps between the on-ramps from the 407 and the off-ramps to Highway 7 would be a nice touch along the 427 as well.

[sonysnob]

The QEW at Henley Bridge in St. Catharines:


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/QEW_i...ov22_24x16.jpg

[Dengler Avenue]

Are arch bridges falling out favour in Ontario? I see a lot of them replaced with other types of bridges.

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Are arch bridges falling out favour in Ontario? I see a lot of them replaced with other types of bridges.

I suspect that pre-fabricated bridges are just cheaper to construct.