Tuscani01
Senior Member
:O
:'(
What the hell! That is an amazing bike route. In that case, I would rather keep the traffic on the 401.
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Highway 401 (widening through GTA)
- Thread starter aofe11
- Start date
:O
:'(
What the hell! That is an amazing bike route. In that case, I would rather keep the traffic on the 401.
Northern Light
Superstar
GO Trains
The 401 has already been widened in its central area to its limits.
Widening it in the burbs, when the traffic will just run into a wall of congestion in central T.O. doesn't make any sense.
The province can't afford, nor would it muster the political gumption to expropriate and widen the highway at Bayview/Yonge/Avenue/Allen.
This stretch is already profoundly congested, and operates at deadstop most of the day.
The answer to congestion in this corridor is not funnelling more cars into a finite and already overfull space, its transit.
Take the middle 2 lanes out of the 401 and run GO Service. A 'through' route (Pickering Station on Lakeshore Line to the 401/427 junction with a massive new parking lot and transit terminal), (stops at Yorkdale, Yonge, and McCowan) and a downtown diverter route where trains interline onto the Bradford or Richmond Hill lines and then serve Union Station.
If you did this, with service every 10 minutes in rush hour and every 30 minutes mid-day, you could draw down more than 10% of the traffic.
That would do far more than few new lane-kilometres for easing gridlock.
I say that as car-owner who would greatly appreciate less traffic on my way to see the GF in Kitchner!
The 401 has already been widened in its central area to its limits.
Widening it in the burbs, when the traffic will just run into a wall of congestion in central T.O. doesn't make any sense.
The province can't afford, nor would it muster the political gumption to expropriate and widen the highway at Bayview/Yonge/Avenue/Allen.
This stretch is already profoundly congested, and operates at deadstop most of the day.
The answer to congestion in this corridor is not funnelling more cars into a finite and already overfull space, its transit.
Take the middle 2 lanes out of the 401 and run GO Service. A 'through' route (Pickering Station on Lakeshore Line to the 401/427 junction with a massive new parking lot and transit terminal), (stops at Yorkdale, Yonge, and McCowan) and a downtown diverter route where trains interline onto the Bradford or Richmond Hill lines and then serve Union Station.
If you did this, with service every 10 minutes in rush hour and every 30 minutes mid-day, you could draw down more than 10% of the traffic.
That would do far more than few new lane-kilometres for easing gridlock.
I say that as car-owner who would greatly appreciate less traffic on my way to see the GF in Kitchner!
unimaginative2
Senior Member
Everybody here certainly supports transit, but there is a definite bottleneck in the 401 that should be fixed to make the most out of the Province's existing investment. It certainly can't and shouldn't be widened at Yonge or Allan, but the section from the 409 to the 427 is a bottleneck that causes backups halfway across the city, completely negating the massive capacity available in most of the corridor. In the section west of the 410/403, the 401 goes from about 8 lanes to 3 instantly. It's inevitable that the traffic congestion caused will be quite severe. That's also an easy and relatively inexpensive fix since the corridor has already been acquired.
I'd say that those two projects should probably be the last significant highway widening projects in the GTA. After that, all the highway money should be plowed into transit. For the cost of extending the 410 north and widening Highway 10, they could likely upgrade that old CP line for GO service.
I'd say that those two projects should probably be the last significant highway widening projects in the GTA. After that, all the highway money should be plowed into transit. For the cost of extending the 410 north and widening Highway 10, they could likely upgrade that old CP line for GO service.
Aren't they currently widening the 401 between Yonge and Leslie?
unimaginative2
Senior Member
No, I believe that's just reconstruction.
They moved the noise barriers back at least five or ten feet so they must be using the extra space for something.
unimaginative2
Senior Member
Major Highway 401 Upgrades To Help Ease Congestion
Investment To Improve Safety And Driving Conditions In The GTA
QUEEN'S PARK, ON, Dec. 9 /CNW/ - The Ontario government is upgrading
Highway 401 between Avenue Road and Leslie Street to reduce congestion and
improve safety for drivers in the GTA, Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar
announced today.
"Highway 401 is North America's busiest highway and an important economic
corridor carrying up to $1.3 billion worth of goods daily," said Takhar.
"These improvements will help improve traffic flow for over 400,000 drivers
using the 401 every day."
Work on this stretch of highway includes:
- Repaving eastbound collector lanes and ramps from Avenue Road to
Leslie Street
- Repairing five bridges between Avenue Road and Leslie Street,
including complete deck replacements on the Hogg's Hollow and
Yonge Street bridges
- Installing new traffic signals for the eastbound exit ramp at
Avenue Road
- Providing three collector lanes across Yonge Street
- Upgrading the guide rail with a new concrete barrier between the
Hogg's Hollow Bridge and Yonge Street
- Replacing the existing noise barrier wall between Avenue Road and
Bayview Avenue
- Replacing seven overhead signs.
The $46.6-million contract was awarded to Dufferin Construction Company
of Oakville. Construction is underway and is scheduled to be complete by fall
2007. During construction, work will be done in stages with short-term lane
and ramp closures at night. All lanes will remain open during peak traffic
periods except the Avenue Road south to Highway 401 east ramp, which will be
closed from spring 2006 until fall 2007.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe it's something to do with that three collectors across Yonge Street. I don't remember, was it only two before?
Investment To Improve Safety And Driving Conditions In The GTA
QUEEN'S PARK, ON, Dec. 9 /CNW/ - The Ontario government is upgrading
Highway 401 between Avenue Road and Leslie Street to reduce congestion and
improve safety for drivers in the GTA, Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar
announced today.
"Highway 401 is North America's busiest highway and an important economic
corridor carrying up to $1.3 billion worth of goods daily," said Takhar.
"These improvements will help improve traffic flow for over 400,000 drivers
using the 401 every day."
Work on this stretch of highway includes:
- Repaving eastbound collector lanes and ramps from Avenue Road to
Leslie Street
- Repairing five bridges between Avenue Road and Leslie Street,
including complete deck replacements on the Hogg's Hollow and
Yonge Street bridges
- Installing new traffic signals for the eastbound exit ramp at
Avenue Road
- Providing three collector lanes across Yonge Street
- Upgrading the guide rail with a new concrete barrier between the
Hogg's Hollow Bridge and Yonge Street
- Replacing the existing noise barrier wall between Avenue Road and
Bayview Avenue
- Replacing seven overhead signs.
The $46.6-million contract was awarded to Dufferin Construction Company
of Oakville. Construction is underway and is scheduled to be complete by fall
2007. During construction, work will be done in stages with short-term lane
and ramp closures at night. All lanes will remain open during peak traffic
periods except the Avenue Road south to Highway 401 east ramp, which will be
closed from spring 2006 until fall 2007.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe it's something to do with that three collectors across Yonge Street. I don't remember, was it only two before?
ShonTron
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According to acutely out-of-date Google Maps, it was 3 lanes in EB collectoes except through the Yonge interchange, where it is two. Perhaps the sound barriers were moved back to make the ramp from Yonge to 401 east go into a new acceleration lane.
unimaginative2
Senior Member
I think Sean has answered our question.
I wonder if there's any way to get a hold of the MTO's plans for extending the collector system through the 427/401 interchange. What is the explanation for the current arrangement? I guess they expected more people to exist at the 409 than presently do.
I wonder if there's any way to get a hold of the MTO's plans for extending the collector system through the 427/401 interchange. What is the explanation for the current arrangement? I guess they expected more people to exist at the 409 than presently do.
Tuscani01
Senior Member
Well, I currently take the 401 east from Mavis, to the 427, then 409, then get back on the 401 at the point where it becomes Express and Collectors again. I then go to the 400.
It shaves about 10-20 minutes off my trip to work versus taking the 401 directly to the 400... all because of the bottleneck east of the 427.
I have a plan at work showing the last few years worth of rebuilding the 401 from Renforth Drive through to Leslie Street. For nearly that entire length an extra lane has been engineered into the existing right of way in each direction. As was noted earlier in this thread, the 401 through the 427 interchange used to be 3 through lanes, it is now 4. As noted just above, the last stage of this rebuilding program is adding a third lane in the collectors through the Yonge/Bayview area.
Between 409 and the 427, the 401 does need another lane in each direction, but a widening through there is not in the cards at this point. A rebuilt Kipling Avenue bridge will likely be required to make that happen, but more certain is that a difficult widening over Dixon Road and Martin Grove and some expropriation along the north side will make for a very expensive project here one day.
Out in the burbs, the idea with the widenings is to taper the merger of lanes a little more gradually than the current sitaution.
In Mississauga, 401 westbound goes from 11 lanes approaching 403/410, to 4 lanes approaching Hurontario, to 3 lanes therafter. That area is the biggest traffic bottleneck in the entire province. I believe that the intention with the more gradual taper after reconstruction will be to take 7 lanes to Hurontario, 6 lanes to Mavis, and 5 lanes through the Credit Valley to Mississauga Road and 4 lanes to Winston Churchill Boulevard. Another lane would be added west of the 407 interchange to take it to 4 again out towards Milton. Similar windering would take place on eastbound lanes. All of that will take several years, and is on hold until the Hurontario and McLaughlin Road bridges are rebuilt. An EA is ongoing too.
Expansion will take place through Durham too. Plans have to be finalized regarding the location of 401/407 connectors before widening will take place east of Salem Road.
That's all I know right now.
42
Between 409 and the 427, the 401 does need another lane in each direction, but a widening through there is not in the cards at this point. A rebuilt Kipling Avenue bridge will likely be required to make that happen, but more certain is that a difficult widening over Dixon Road and Martin Grove and some expropriation along the north side will make for a very expensive project here one day.
Out in the burbs, the idea with the widenings is to taper the merger of lanes a little more gradually than the current sitaution.
In Mississauga, 401 westbound goes from 11 lanes approaching 403/410, to 4 lanes approaching Hurontario, to 3 lanes therafter. That area is the biggest traffic bottleneck in the entire province. I believe that the intention with the more gradual taper after reconstruction will be to take 7 lanes to Hurontario, 6 lanes to Mavis, and 5 lanes through the Credit Valley to Mississauga Road and 4 lanes to Winston Churchill Boulevard. Another lane would be added west of the 407 interchange to take it to 4 again out towards Milton. Similar windering would take place on eastbound lanes. All of that will take several years, and is on hold until the Hurontario and McLaughlin Road bridges are rebuilt. An EA is ongoing too.
Expansion will take place through Durham too. Plans have to be finalized regarding the location of 401/407 connectors before widening will take place east of Salem Road.
That's all I know right now.
42
ShonTron
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The Hurontario Bridge widening would be a huge undertaking. That interchange hasn't been touched since the cloverleaf was converted to a parclo back in the 70s (?).
I don't think anyrhing more than 4 lanes should be built without a collector/express system, due to all the weaving. I also await the day when one can drive from 401 west express to north 410.
I don't think anyrhing more than 4 lanes should be built without a collector/express system, due to all the weaving. I also await the day when one can drive from 401 west express to north 410.
ShonTron
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Yep. The few times I drove in when I still lived in Brampton, I'd do that trick, because the back-up often began at the "tunnel" eastbound, but the "collectors" (the lanes to 427/Renforth) generally moved well. GO buses would also do this often enoughl It has become a bit better since the extra lane was added in each direction, but it was still bad. The 401 through Dixon Road also felt like a never-ending construction site too, but never really noticed what they did there.
Tuscani01
Senior Member
Yep, I noticed GO buses doing it... they even helped me find a way around the bottleneck at the 409/401 ramp by taking a small street that runs parallel to the 401 for a bit, then brings you to the 409 right before the ramp to the 401... basically bypassing all the traffic behind the ramp.
But since construction on the 401 collector going east has been completed, the bottleneck at the 401/409 has disappeared.
G
Gladman
Guest
The most enduring bottleneck has been the e/b 401 to Yonge St. By 2pm, its backed up to the 427. The amortizing over time of construction is the biggest culprit. This project at Yonge could be finished far more quickly if it wasn't spread out over years instead of months. All projects on the 401 in the GTA should run 24 hours - the highway is too important to be allowed to grind to a halt for most of the day.