Roads: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Highway 410 (MTO, U/C, Planned)

[salmonz]

Really? When I said we didn't need a thread for each small widening, I wasn't suggesting you create threads for each small widening

And how is this not already covered by the existing thread https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/401-widening-hespeler-to-halton.10801/

As I mentioned in the other threads, these are by no means small widenings. They are core-collector upgrades to the highway 401 in areas never seeing this type of expansion in decades.

There has been lots of talk of the highway 401 expansion through Milton for over a decade, with multiple open houses, information sessions, but very little movement.

This section of highway has been the bane of many people's existence, commuting to work, goods stuck in gridlock (worse than Toronto), through what seems small communities (now medium-large communities).

Mississauga through Meadowvale was considered small up until 2000-2005ish with the expansion of housing through this area at that time. Milton was considered small (pop. 30,000) around the same time and ballooned to over 100,000; all with little expansion to highways and transit. I for one shifted the time I spent commuting through this area by an hour to adjust for constant gridlock. I am glad the government realized there's no one cars that need to move, but transport trucks to deliver in and out of the GTA.

 

[Leo_Chan]

I can understand a Highway 401 Expansion/Construction (MTO) thread, but not a tread for every Hwy 401 widening section. Actually, such a thread would make sense as "everyone" in Ontario uses the 401.

 

[BurlOak]

What I don't like here is that the 401 EBL to old 6 ramp take priority over the 6 NBL to 401 EBL (freeway to freeway) ramp.

What I like is the new 6 old bridge being built beside the existing one - better for staging to minimize construction disruption.

I don't know the exact traffic volumes for the various movements, but here are my suggestions for improvement:

1. Add a 6 NBL to 401 EBL direct ramp.
2. Add a ramp from Carpool lot (which is likely also a GO Bus stop) directly to 401 EBL.
3. Take the Brock Road SBL to 401 EBL out of the roundabout and provide direct access.
4. Make some use of the approx. 20 ha. development potential of the land north of the Connector Road. Connector Road is being built from scratch so a bridge and diamond interchange would not add much cost.

 

[gweed123]

I've merged all of the western 401 construction threads into a single thread covering all projects from Highway 8 to Highway 410. Hopefully this will strike the right balance between project specificity (not getting buried in the Ontario Highways thread) and not cluttering up the forum too much. This thread was originally the 401 Mississauga Reconstruction thread.

 

[salmonz]

I've merged all of the western 401 construction threads into a single thread covering all projects from Highway 8 to Highway 410. Hopefully this will strike the right balance between project specificity (not getting buried in the Ontario Highways thread) and not cluttering up the forum too much. This thread was originally the 401 Mississauga Reconstruction thread.

This is much better, thank you for doing so, as well as keeping the Highway 7 it's own thread.

 

[Transportfan]

Will the widening through to Milton be a full C-D system? If so, that would look very odd through the short rural stretch.

 

[salmonz]

Will the widening through to Milton be a full C-D system? If so, that would look very odd through the short rural stretch.

Partially.

• 12 lane core-collector system from the Credit River to Winston Churchill Boulevard
• 10 lanes from Winston Churchill Boulevard to Highway 407 ETR/ Highway 401 interchange
• 12 lane core-collector system from Highway 407 ETR/ Highway 401 interchange to James Snow Parkway
• 10 lanes from the James Snow Parkway to Regional Road 25

 

[nfitz]

10 lanes from the James Snow Parkway to Regional Road 25

It's 10 lanes from all the way from James Snow to somewhere in Cambridge isn't it? And then another chunk of 12 ... but I don't think there's any collector/express lanes west of James Snow. Though I've not being paying full attention.

Of course, there's the oddness between the 6's. Not sure what iteration they are on for that now ... or what you call it.

 

[salmonz]

It's 10 lanes from all the way from James Snow to somewhere in Cambridge isn't it? And then another chunk of 12 ... but I don't think there's any collector/express lanes west of James Snow. Though I've not being paying full attention.

Of course, there's the oddness between the 6's. Not sure what iteration they are on for that now ... or what you call it.

nfitz,

Starting from Kitchener...
10 lanes - Highway 8 (Kitchener) to Hespeler Rd (Cambridge)
10 lanes - Hespeler Rd (Cambridge) to Townline Rd (Cambridge)
6 lanes - Townline Rd (Cambridge) to Highway 6 North (Guelph)
10 lanes - Highway 6 North (Guelph) to Highway 6 South (Morriston)
6 lanes - Highway 6 South (Morriston) to Highway 25 (Milton)
10 lanes - Highway 25 (Milton) to James Snow Parkway (Milton)
12 lanes - James Snow Parkway (Milton) to Highway 407 (Milton)
10 lanes - Highway 407 (Milton) to Winston Churchill (Mississauga)
12 lanes - Winston Churchill (Mississauga) to Mavis (Mississauga)

There are plans to ultimately widen to 10 lanes through the 6 lane stretches above, but there is very few exits and population points in my opinion to warrant it.

 

[innsertnamehere]

nfitz,

Starting from Kitchener...
10 lanes - Highway 8 (Kitchener) to Hespeler Rd (Cambridge)
10 lanes - Hespeler Rd (Cambridge) to Townline Rd (Cambridge)
6 lanes - Townline Rd (Cambridge) to Highway 6 North (Guelph)
12 lanes - Highway 6 North (Guelph) to Highway 6 South (Morriston)
6 lanes - Highway 6 South (Morriston) to Highway 25 (Milton)
10 lanes - Highway 25 (Milton) to James Snow Parkway (Milton)
12 lanes - James Snow Parkway (Milton) to Highway 407 (Milton)
10 lanes - Highway 407 (Milton) to Winston Churchill (Mississauga)
12 lanes - Winston Churchill (Mississauga) to Mavis (Mississauga)

There are plans to ultimately widen to 10 lanes through the 6 lane stretches above, but there is very few exits and population points in my opinion to warrant it.

fixed. Or at least that is the plan that was approved under the various EAs.

I expect the gaps will soon be filled with funding.

There may not be many population centres, but the through traffic from KWC and Guelph to the GTA is overwhelming those 6 lane sections.

 

[nfitz]

There are plans to ultimately widen to 10 lanes through the 6 lane stretches above, but there is very few exits and population points in my opinion to warrant it.

Oh ...

I thought the whole conclusion from the GTA West study, was to widen the 401, rather than build a new link further north - partially because of the environmental impact (of sprawl, and of another Niagara Escarpment crossing).

If the current demand is only 6 lanes for much of it, like it is today ... then surely if the ultimate width is 10 at those spots, doesn't that imply they are going to need 14 to 16 at spots further east and west? Or else you'll need the GTA West.

 

[Steve X]

I'm not the biggest fan of a 10 lane free for all highway. There's just too much weaving for those who want to get a while while having idiots doing 95km/h on the second or third lane. If the core-collector system isn't present over the 401/407 intersection stretch, we'll have people cutting across 3-5 lanes of traffic from 401 express to the 407 ramp and vice versa. It's like exiting the 401 WB to 427 SB and realized the the left most lane of the three lane exit meant you have 1km to cut across 5 lanes of traffic to get into the collector to exit Burnhamthorpe. 1 km of driving at 120-130km/h is less than 30 seconds!

The 407 between the 427 and 400 is particularly a mess with 6 lanes both direction.

 

[nfitz]

Though it's 4 lanes + 1 HOV. So in many ways not much different than the 401 across the top of Toronto, where there's often 4 lanes in either the express or collector.

Though isn't the root cause of the 10-lane segment at 407, because someone who did the 407 specs, didn't ever think they'd have Collector-Express to Milton - so not wide enough bridges?

 

[jamincan]

I drive this part of the 401 every day. Unless there's some sort of accident, you don't typically see any traffic issues between Franklin in Cambridge and 25 in Milton. Most major slowdowns, even in Milton, are related to lane-changing around interchanges, so I doubt the section between 6 and 25 will need widening for a very long time. One thing that might be warranted even now is a 4th lane on the WB 401 between 25 and Guelph Line to deal with trucks that slow down to the climb up the escarpment.

 

[nfitz]

It wasn't the timeframe I'm thinking, but if the pieces they are doing now are ultimate, and they are supposed to take the entire think up to 10 lanes in lieu of the GTA West highway, then if they do need 10 lane in the middle, there are going to be issues in the pieces currently being built to ultimate (i.e. where we have problems now).

Oh well, hopefully they'll have pulled my license for senility before we hit that point ...