Quote:
Originally Posted by MolsonExport
Does anyone think there will be any further widening of the existing widest spots of the 401?
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I'm doubtful. I'm not sure how much room is left north and south of the 16 and 18 lane sections through Toronto. Some of those stretches are pretty tight up against other infrastructure, or would require longer overpasses that would not be cheap. We could see some of the 12-lane sections expanded though.
Whether there are any lasting travel demand impacts from the pandemic will be a key thing to watch. *IF* peak period traffic becomes lower, or levels off, then expansion probably won't be necessary... but that also depends on how things shift in the mid-peak period, within which trips have been rising for a while now. I doubt they'd exceed the old peak hours though.
Longer term the issue of automated vehicles still looms. They may bring the opportunity to safely increase the amount of vehicles using existing capacity. But the possibilities and timing of that are their own debate entirely!