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  #1  
Old Posted Mar 24, 2021, 9:17 PM
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Hamilton Roads

Noticed there wasn’t really a catch all thread for roads in Hamilton, thought I would start one.

The provincial budget today announced the province will be widening highway 6 from Upper James to the 403.

I know when that highway was built 15 years ago the plan was for it to be upgraded to a freeway in the future (as shown by the full width underpasses built). I wonder if this will be a full freeway upgrade or just be building another carriageway without the interchanges like Highway 6 in Guelph?
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  #2  
Old Posted Mar 24, 2021, 10:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere View Post
Noticed there wasn’t really a catch all thread for roads in Hamilton, thought I would start one.

The provincial budget today announced the province will be widening highway 6 from Upper James to the 403.

I know when that highway was built 15 years ago the plan was for it to be upgraded to a freeway in the future (as shown by the full width underpasses built). I wonder if this will be a full freeway upgrade or just be building another carriageway without the interchanges like Highway 6 in Guelph?
With all the growth in air-freight and the new facilities surrounding YHM, those extra lanes will be welcome even if intersections remain. I hope they would build at least one interchange though, at Book Rd. It is the shortest path between the 403 and Dickenson Rd. (via Glancaster) and the new builds northeast of the airfield may create demand for it... the city may have to upgrade those roads as well to support the truck traffic and alleviate tensions it will create for local residents.
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Old Posted Mar 24, 2021, 10:12 PM
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From the actual budget document

Quote:
The widening of Highway 6 South from Highway 403 to Upper James Street in the City of Hamilton, from two to four lanes for about nine kilometres. This stretch of highway is a significant trade corridor and a primary connection from John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport to the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area via Highway 403.
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  #4  
Old Posted Mar 24, 2021, 11:26 PM
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Also from the budget doc:

Quote:
The expansion of Highways 6 and 401 between Hamilton and Guelph that will provide the needed capacity increase for Highway 401 and alleviate traffic congestion on Highway 6 — improving safety, traffic flow and network efficiency. Ontario will proceed with the next phase by constructing a new interchange for Wellington Road 34 on Highway 6 north of Highway 401 and relocating utilities. Early works are expected to begin in 2021.
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  #5  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2021, 6:11 PM
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When the original HWY 6 bypass was announced, it was to be a 4 lane highway with the capacity to be widened to 6 lanes. All crossing roads where to have a bridge across the highway with on and off ramps at Book Road, Butter Road and at the entrance to the airport. A budget was set and then they took 10 years to start it. Like everything else with Hamilton, the government of the day would not give any more money to the project except what was originally budgeted for. By the way the project was started in 2001 and completed in November 2004. The Premier was Mike Harris when approved for construction. Sounds like LRT! So the highway had to fit the budget. They cancelled the bridge at Book Road and put in a level intersection on an 80 km highway (first intersection from a 100 km highway) with it controlled by traffic lights. Then they removed the ramps from Butter Road. The Airport did not get a bridge over the highway and only one ramp with just a left turn lane into the airport. And lastly they took out the other 2 lanes that were to be separated by a median.

I know the airport was pushing for the extra 2 lanes. Traffic can be heavy, even in the early morning with truck traffic to and from the airport. They would also like a ramps at the airport with a bridge and ramps at Glancaster Road to open up the west end of the airport as the east end is getting full.

Hopefully they get what they were asking for.
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  #6  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2021, 7:47 PM
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I remember all that. The idea got tossed around for years, sometimes touted as the first leg of a freeway into Haldimand & Norfolk (doubtful that will ever happen though, especially not before the Indigenous land rights issue is cleared up... which is also unlikely to happen anytime soon)

I think initially the argument against a fully divided highway was that airport passenger levels didn't warrant more than a super two, but with the freight business taking off it's needed, not just for volume but safety too... I've seen some close calls with cars trying to pass trucks, and I don't use that road very often.
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  #7  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2021, 10:20 PM
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I think MTO still plans to extend it to the Caledonia bypass at some point, but any other upgrades past that are dead more or less.
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  #8  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2021, 1:07 PM
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In terms of City of Hamilton Road work this summer, Hamilton will be finishing up the widening of Rymal between Fletcher and Upper Centennial this summer, and will be building the Waterdown by-pass.

Barton Street is also scheduled to get resurfaced between Parkdale and Talbot (Red Hill Valley Parkway). That one is badly needed - specifically between Talbot and Woodward, the road is in unbelievably poor condition.

The city also quietly allocated an additional $5 million to road resurfacing this year in the capital budget. The transportation department is pushing for 5 million increases each year for the foreseeable future to try and address the maintenance backlog. The city is spending about $70 million a year in road maintenance right now but needs to be spending roughly double that to maintain roads properly..
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  #9  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2021, 2:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere View Post
In terms of City of Hamilton Road work this summer, Hamilton will be finishing up the widening of Rymal between Fletcher and Upper Centennial this summer, and will be building the Waterdown by-pass.

Barton Street is also scheduled to get resurfaced between Parkdale and Talbot (Red Hill Valley Parkway). That one is badly needed - specifically between Talbot and Woodward, the road is in unbelievably poor condition.

The city also quietly allocated an additional $5 million to road resurfacing this year in the capital budget. The transportation department is pushing for 5 million increases each year for the foreseeable future to try and address the maintenance backlog. The city is spending about $70 million a year in road maintenance right now but needs to be spending roughly double that to maintain roads properly..
Clearly what we should be doing is expanding the urban boundary to add more roads, and not incentivizinf density on existing roads to improve the property tax base....
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  #10  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2021, 3:43 PM
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Clearly what we should be doing is expanding the urban boundary to add more roads, and not incentivizinf density on existing roads to improve the property tax base....
Or pay for it using transit money; nobody takes the bus these days. And screw the LRT... use that billion bucks on asphalt.

It's unfortunate that so many people do not connect planning with finance. They're different siloes in city government, but are actually integral to each other.
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  #11  
Old Posted Jul 2, 2021, 4:20 PM
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https://globalnews.ca/news/7994484/o...ffic-plan/amp/

Lots of references here on Ontario's plans for highway upgrades , many impacting greater Hamilton
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  #12  
Old Posted Jul 2, 2021, 4:37 PM
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Originally Posted by King&James View Post
https://globalnews.ca/news/7994484/o...ffic-plan/amp/

Lots of references here on Ontario's plans for highway upgrades , many impacting greater Hamilton
MTO has underinvested in the provincial highway network around Hamilton for years compared to most of the province. The 403 in Aldershot is one of the busiest 6 lane stretches of highway in the province, for example.

I think it's mostly because of the challenging terrain in Hamilton, where most of the provincial freeway network is limited by the escarpment and various water crossings. Any widening in most areas needs a lot of very expensive bridge work.

I'm not surprised they are finally starting to think about spending a bit of money in the area. My understanding is that the 403/407/QEW interchange in Burlington and the 403 east to Highway 6 is a nearer term priority for some extra lanes.

Longer term, MTO is planning to widen the Skyway again too. That'll be a fun project when it comes up. They will probably shift it to a collectors-express system, at least for over the bridge.
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  #13  
Old Posted Jul 2, 2021, 8:55 PM
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The 403 really needs beefing up, especially between Hwy 6 and the Freeman Interchange (which will definitely need to be upgraded as well in the near future) and west of the Linc. The gap in between is difficult -- shoehorning more lanes into the trench along Chedoke Creek would not be easy, nor would it be simple to widen the curvy portion next to Cootes Paradise. But the climb up the escarpment is probably the most difficult to engineer and would be costly.

Adding a third bridge to the Skyway will be necessary and expensive, partly because it will probably require re-alignment of Eastport Dr. (I assume that's the side a new span would fit best; there may need to be some fill in the harbour to accommodate that, especially north of the ship channel), widening the approaches and rebuilding interchanges -- at Northshore for sure, and possibly Plains/Fairview; if the widening is taken far enough, you're looking at rebuilding Woodward/Burlington St., Centennial, and RHVP connections as well. Collectors/express may make the most sense, though they could also use the middle span for HOT lanes.

I wonder if they'll take a look at widening the Linc/RHVP as an alternative to doing anything to the 403 in west Hamilton? The Linc especially gets bunged up at certain times of day.
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  #14  
Old Posted Jul 4, 2021, 3:00 PM
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Originally Posted by ScreamingViking View Post
The 403 really needs beefing up, especially between Hwy 6 and the Freeman Interchange (which will definitely need to be upgraded as well in the near future) and west of the Linc. The gap in between is difficult -- shoehorning more lanes into the trench along Chedoke Creek would not be easy, nor would it be simple to widen the curvy portion next to Cootes Paradise. But the climb up the escarpment is probably the most difficult to engineer and would be costly.

Adding a third bridge to the Skyway will be necessary and expensive, partly because it will probably require re-alignment of Eastport Dr. (I assume that's the side a new span would fit best; there may need to be some fill in the harbour to accommodate that, especially north of the ship channel), widening the approaches and rebuilding interchanges -- at Northshore for sure, and possibly Plains/Fairview; if the widening is taken far enough, you're looking at rebuilding Woodward/Burlington St., Centennial, and RHVP connections as well. Collectors/express may make the most sense, though they could also use the middle span for HOT lanes.

I wonder if they'll take a look at widening the Linc/RHVP as an alternative to doing anything to the 403 in west Hamilton? The Linc especially gets bunged up at certain times of day.
There is always the big dig option!
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  #15  
Old Posted Jul 4, 2021, 3:11 PM
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There is always the big dig option!
That's been floated too. But the cost would be enormous.

If that were to happen, they could include a conduit for the power cables that currently line the beach strip and take down those towers. A nice ancillary benefit!
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  #16  
Old Posted Jul 5, 2021, 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by ScreamingViking View Post
The 403 really needs beefing up, especially between Hwy 6 and the Freeman Interchange (which will definitely need to be upgraded as well in the near future) and west of the Linc. The gap in between is difficult -- shoehorning more lanes into the trench along Chedoke Creek would not be easy, nor would it be simple to widen the curvy portion next to Cootes Paradise. But the climb up the escarpment is probably the most difficult to engineer and would be costly.

Adding a third bridge to the Skyway will be necessary and expensive, partly because it will probably require re-alignment of Eastport Dr. (I assume that's the side a new span would fit best; there may need to be some fill in the harbour to accommodate that, especially north of the ship channel), widening the approaches and rebuilding interchanges -- at Northshore for sure, and possibly Plains/Fairview; if the widening is taken far enough, you're looking at rebuilding Woodward/Burlington St., Centennial, and RHVP connections as well. Collectors/express may make the most sense, though they could also use the middle span for HOT lanes.

I wonder if they'll take a look at widening the Linc/RHVP as an alternative to doing anything to the 403 in west Hamilton? The Linc especially gets bunged up at certain times of day.
MTO is currently completing the environmental assessment to widen the 403 from Waterdown Road to York Boulevard. This would include a full reconstruction of the 403/hwy 6 interchange to remove the left turn merge lanes there.

http://hwy403hwy6preliminarydesignea.ca/

They also recently completed an Environmental Assessment for the Freeman Interchange in Burlington. That project would extend the HOV lanes on the QEW to the Skyway and add an additional lane to the 403 through the interchange in the short term:

https://qew403freeman.ca/

No word on any other environmental assessments for the Hamilton area. They will need to do one for the Highway 6 twinning near the airport so I would expect to see that soon.

After those projects I expect the next Hamilton area provincial project will be adding HOV lanes to the QEW from Centennial out towards Grimsby.
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Old Posted Jul 7, 2021, 12:27 AM
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I can't recall specifics, but the gas tax funding was originally meant to support transit investment (Ontario's for sure, though the federal amount had more leeway from what I recall)

Full marks to Wilson for her comments, though deaf will be the ears across which they resonate. I wonder where the $2.7M remainder will go...


Hamilton council wants to spend $30 million in federal funds on roads, sidewalks

https://www.thespec.com/news/council...sidewalks.html

Teviah Moro
The Hamilton Spectator
Tue., July 6, 2021

City councillors plan to spread $30 million in expected federal funding equally among Hamilton’s 15 wards to tackle road and sidewalk repairs.

“These one-offs come about every once in a while from the federal government,” Coun. Chad Collins said Monday. “There’s no shortage of road and sidewalk work that needs to be done in every single ward.”

The $30 million is part of an expected $32.7 million in one-time infrastructure funding from the federal gas tax.

A strong majority backed Collins’ call to distribute the $30 million among Hamilton’s 15 wards.

But Coun. Maureen Wilson argued staff should analyze how to use such a large amount of funding through an asset-management lens presented during annual budget deliberations.

“We need to look at the best return on our dollar, and we need to start acting like a single city, rather than 15 independent cities so that we give taxpayers the best rate of return when we do expend those dollars,” she said.

Full story here
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  #18  
Old Posted Jul 4, 2021, 12:50 PM
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Widening the linc/rhvp would fall on the city’s dime, unless the province hands them the money in lieu of widening the 403. Though I could see council not being enthusiastic to widening to allow for more truck traffic.
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Old Posted Jul 4, 2021, 2:58 PM
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Widening the linc/rhvp would fall on the city’s dime, unless the province hands them the money in lieu of widening the 403. Though I could see council not being enthusiastic to widening to allow for more truck traffic.
It would most likely involve the province funding and building the expansion, with city input. I believe the interchanges are up to standard, perhaps a few in the valley would need work though. There would need to be a barriered median and maybe drainage work to compensate for additional water runoff, but the new lanes would probably run within the current medians anyway.

A RHVP expansion would trigger a lot of opposition. The truck issue is another, but I believe there's still cut-through truck traffic in the lower city so more restrictions on that may be a palatable exchange (not that anyone on council except the reps for central lower city wards cares).


There's been debate for years about uploading "critical" highways that are currently municipally managed. It includes those two, the Gardiner & DVP, Windsor's E.C. Row Expressway, and maybe others but I can't think of them offhand (eastern portion of Ottawa's Queensway maybe). The Tory government would be loathe to do it, given that it was their party who downloaded many provincial highways in the first place, but that was a long time ago politically (and the PCs have carried on with the 407 East work as planned, despite it being launched under a Liberal government)
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  #20  
Old Posted Jul 4, 2021, 3:12 PM
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Cue toll highways and lanes.
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