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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

ShonTron said:
Quebec's Autoroutes are weird. Some are Super-2s, some are almost-but-not-quite freeways, and some are overbuilt relics, especially in the Quebec City area. There's the long and slow A20 section through Ile-Perrot and Vaudreuil, but at least there are alternatives: A40 or A30, both of which connect well. The A20/A520 interchange is being upgraded with improved connections to the airport.

Ontario isn't perfect: until recently, Highway 406 wasn't complete as a multilane freeway, and Highway 420 never will be. Even in the US, there are some notable gaps in the interstate network. Interstate 70 has a few lights in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania.
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Quebec does have more super-2's which are nice for their low usage. Some are conventional highways like the A955. Autoroutes in many urban areas are very worn out. Ontario's urban highways are much better maintained even compared to the interstates.

Many of the old interstates existed before the interstate system was defined. The I-70 designation exits the turnpike to another freeway hence the traffic light. That community don't want them to build a ramp so they don't loose their local businesses. Ontario tries to have one main throughway for one designation. Notability the 400 NB exits the main highway at the 400/11 split. The 417 WB exits the main throughway at the split with highway 17 (now R.R. 174) on The Queensway. Also the 403 WB exits the main throughway at the 407 interchange. These examples exist due to the fact that the original planned alignment was to go straight but later changed. The interstate designation however is just a number applied to main existing freeways, especially turnpikes. Quebec saw all there conventional highways renumbered in the 70s. Hence why it's more organized that MTO's 1917 designations.

The 420 was actually part of the QEW until it took a new alignment to Fort Erie back in the 70s. It was never meant to be a freeway of it's own. The left exit indicates that the original highway exited there.
 
Steve X said:
The 420 was actually part of the QEW until it took a new alignment to Fort Erie back in the 70s. It was never meant to be a freeway of it's own. The left exit indicates that the original highway exited there.
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Actually, both the Fort Erie and Niagara Falls portions were called QEW. Here's a map from 1950 that shows the ER for QEW on the Fort Erie stretch.

http://www.ontarioroadmaps.ca/index...road-map/33-1950-official-road-map-of-ontario

I think wikipdeia is correct here.

Work continued on the four lane bridge approach throughout 1941, and by mid-1942 it was possible to drive directly from the bridge onto the QEW. The new link featured a traffic circle at Dorchester Road as well as at the QEW. Four gravel lanes opened between Niagara Falls and Fort Erie during the summer of 1941, becoming the main route of the QEW. As a result, what would become Highway 420 was referred to by several names, including the Queen Elizabeth Way Extension (and known by locals for decades as the "Queen E Extension") and the Rainbow Bridge Approach.
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ShonTron said:
Quebec's Autoroutes are weird. Some are Super-2s, some are almost-but-not-quite freeways, and some are overbuilt relics, especially in the Quebec City area. There's the long and slow A20 section through Ile-Perrot and Vaudreuil, but at least there are alternatives: A40 or A30, both of which connect well. The A20/A520 interchange is being upgraded with improved connections to the airport.

Ontario isn't perfect: until recently, Highway 406 wasn't complete as a multilane freeway, and Highway 420 never will be. Even in the US, there are some notable gaps in the interstate network. Interstate 70 has a few lights in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania.
Click to expand...

There are quite a few Super 2s in New Brunswick too, which is understandable considering the low traffic volumes. It's interesting to note though that while NB went with controlled access and a single carriageway, many of the Prairie provinces went with dual carriageway but not controlled access.
 
gweed123 said:
There are quite a few Super 2s in New Brunswick too, which is understandable considering the low traffic volumes. It's interesting to note though that while NB went with controlled access and a single carriageway, many of the Prairie provinces went with dual carriageway but not controlled access.
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And Nova Scotia, for that matter: only about 40% of the 100-series highways there are four lane freeways (NB border to Antigonish, Truro to Halifax, in Metro Halifax and a little bit near Sydney), another 25-30% are super 2s, the rest being regular signed highways.

Perhaps it's because of more rugged terrain they went with Super-2s over dual carriageways -- they're cheaper to build, I'm sure, in the Prairies; long-distance truck traffic is likely higher as well.
 
ShonTron said:
And Nova Scotia, for that matter: only about 40% of the 100-series highways there are four lane freeways (NB border to Antigonish, Truro to Halifax, in Metro Halifax and a little bit near Sydney), another 25-30% are super 2s, the rest being regular signed highways.

Perhaps it's because of more rugged terrain they went with Super-2s over dual carriageways -- they're cheaper to build, I'm sure, in the Prairies; long-distance truck traffic is likely higher as well.
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Very likely. They wanted the advantages of controlled access, without the expense of building the second carriageway. I guess with lower truck traffic head-ons are less of a concern. Do any of the Prairie provinces have a plan in place to gradually build interchanges along the main dual carriageway highways (Hwy 1 in particular) in order to make them freeways? Or is the status quo staying the status quo for a while?
 
gweed123 said:
Very likely. They wanted the advantages of controlled access, without the expense of building the second carriageway. I guess with lower truck traffic head-ons are less of a concern. Do any of the Prairie provinces have a plan in place to gradually build interchanges along the main dual carriageway highways (Hwy 1 in particular) in order to make them freeways? Or is the status quo staying the status quo for a while?
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The trend in the Prairies seems to be building or completing freeway bypasses around the largest cities. Work is being done in Regina to re-route Highway 1 to a new freeway on the east side of the city. Calgary and Edmonton are completing beltways, and so is Saskatoon.

Not much in the way of new interchanges in rural areas.
 
There are a couple of lights on the TCH on the prairies that really should be interchanges, the 1-16 intersection in Manitoba is probably the best example.
 
ShonTron said:
The trend in the Prairies seems to be building or completing freeway bypasses around the largest cities. Work is being done in Regina to re-route Highway 1 to a new freeway on the east side of the city. Calgary and Edmonton are completing beltways, and so is Saskatoon.

Not much in the way of new interchanges in rural areas.
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I know there are plans in Alberta to upgrade 1 to entire controlled access from Sask to BC, route selected and everything. Was done for under a previous government and current NDP gov is Coy with it like with everything else. BC is upgrading Highway 1 from Kamloops to Alberta to four lanes 100 km/h mixed controlled access andat grade. It'll be 4 lanes divided by a concrete barrier. Parks Canada has upgraded 1 in Banff to controlled access, and is upgarding it in Yoho. Cant find if Yoho will be conrolled access... at a minimum there are wildlife over and under passes. From Kamloops to Vancouver I dont think they are upgrading 1 as 5 serves as the bypass for it and is controlled access with a speed limit of 120 km/h... through the mountains. Ontario can only dream of that.

In Calgary, They have completed NW, NE and SE legs, construction is underway for half the SW leg. Huge controversy as they are ramming the freeway through a treasured wetland, rerouting the river too. They also have plans for a second loop to be built in the distant future.
 
Kitsune said:
I know there are plans in Alberta to upgrade 1 to entire controlled access from Sask to BC, route selected and everything. Was done for under a previous government and current NDP gov is Coy with it like with everything else. BC is upgrading Highway 1 from Kamloops to Alberta to four lanes 100 km/h mixed controlled access andat grade. It'll be 4 lanes divided by a concrete barrier. Parks Canada has upgraded 1 in Banff to controlled access, and is upgarding it in Yoho. Cant find if Yoho will be conrolled access... at a minimum there are wildlife over and under passes. From Kamloops to Vancouver I dont think they are upgrading 1 as 5 serves as the bypass for it and is controlled access with a speed limit of 120 km/h... through the mountains. Ontario can only dream of that.

In Calgary, They have completed NW, NE and SE legs, construction is underway for half the SW leg. Huge controversy as they are ramming the freeway through a treasured wetland, rerouting the river too. They also have plans for a second loop to be built in the distant future.
Click to expand...
Why would Ontario dream of that? Ontario has a lot more freeways than BC plus Alberta combined. All the time saved on the freeways are gone if a trip includes the conventional highway. BC has a less traffic than Ontario making a higher speed limit feasible. I do like to see certain parts of the 400-series highway upgraded to 120-130km/h but at night, sections with higher moose/deer sightings would have to be lowed back to 100km/h. BC freeways are substandard for MTO. I prefer the higher standard MTO freeways. They are safer. BC is still decades away from upgrading the entire BC section of the Trans Canadian Highway. Alberta does have 110 km/h speed limit. They are pretty much done upgrading their section of the TCH. Ontario and Newfoundland are the most behind when we talk about twinning the TCH. It simply doesn't make sense with that little traffic. MTO should however get moving on those medium rumble strip. They can save life for a very cheap cost than twinning. Quebec has them on the A-50 and Route 185.


It's about they they start building the new 400 extension or they'll never finish by 2021.
 
Haljackey said:
Interesting read about Highway 7 north of Toronto.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...ke-hwy-7-a-jumble-of-contradictions-hume.html
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I think we would all agree that the Highway 7 Rapidway in Markham and Vaughan are steps made to get more people to ride transit, but it's the number of lanes that is the problem. It really should have gone from 6 lanes to 4 lanes, with bus lanes added. However, this would only be possible when there is an alternative through-way for cars and trucks. Highway 407 was built just for this purpose, but with the 407 ETR and the 99 year lease, we will have to wait until 2097 (or when tolls lower or gets bought back by province) until we can even consider reducing the lanes on Highway 7 to 4.

IMO, reducing the amount of cars and truck on Highway 7 is the only way to create an "Urban Markham and Urban Vaughan", which requires them to be using another highway: **toll free Hwy 407**
 
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