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

[drum118]

Sept 22
We had our first walk on the new 2nd line bridge and looked at the 401. Trying to read the layout, it looks like a collector transfer to the express lane will take place for the eastbound lanes will take place at the Credit River.

Anyone from the east going west better take the express lanes as its 2 lanes non stop going over the Credit River while the collectors merge from 3 to 1 at the Credit River.

Looks like a lot of unfinished work for the new open lanes. Could be it must wait until 2022 when the other section is to open.

You can see the new Creditview Overpass and where the collector will swing north.

 

[stevensontransit]

Fun fact:

According to Roadscholar, planning of the 401 widening to 12 express collector system from 410/403 to Credit River began in April 2002: https://web.archive.org/web/20090718134647/http://www.roadscholar.on.ca/lateststory.html

 

[stevensontransit]

Fun fact:

According to Roadscholar, planning of the 401 widening to 12 express collector system from 410/403 to Credit River began in April 2002: https://web.archive.org/web/20090718134647/http://www.roadscholar.on.ca/lateststory.html

And in 2005, A Transportation Environmental Study Report for this section of the 401 was prepared in August 2005 and received approval in 2007: http://www.401expansion-mississauga.ca/Downloads/2622 TESR Volume_1.pdf

In 2008, the McLaughlin Road bridge over the 401 was replaced to accommodate the widening:

https://flic.kr/p/5jNiVP

In 2009, the widening from 410/403 to west of Hurontario Street began and was completed in 2013: http://www.401expansion-mississauga.ca/background.html

From 2014-2016, the Mavis Road overpass was expanded to accommodate the 401 widening and the interchange was reconstructed.
And from 2016-2020, the 401 was widened from west of Hurontario Street to Credit River and and will be completed with the HOV openings along with transfers in October or November.

 

[afransen]

^11 years for that is insanity. I have been driving that stretch of highway on and off for the whole time and it boggles my mind that it couldn't be completed in a few years.

 

[stevensontransit]

^11 years for that is insanity. I have been driving that stretch of highway on and off for the whole time and it boggles my mind that it couldn't be completed in a few years.

Yep. The section from 410/403 has gone through four separate contracts.

 

[afransen]

I wonder how much more that project has costed by doing it this way. The mobilization/demobilization alone must be massive.

 

[drum118]

I wonder how much more that project has costed by doing it this way. The mobilization/demobilization alone must be massive.

What was the cost of each of those projects, the total cost and do you have the funds to cover them??

I guess you would love dealing with a 30 km of continue construction tie up???

How many different contractors were awarded a contract for this work??

 

[Steve X]

What was the cost of each of those projects, the total cost and do you have the funds to cover them??

I guess you would love dealing with a 30 km of continue construction tie up???

How many different contractors were awarded a contract for this work??

It would only be tied up for a year or two if the government gets its mojo back.

The original express/collector from Kipling to Neilson was completed from 1967-72 and only took 2 years for each few kilometre sections. It's so rare to see a government like Frod to say lets get award 18km of widening to be completed within 4 years.

 

[afransen]

Those four projects cover what, 7km? I'm not talking about the current expansion west of Mississauga Rd. We have been enduring slowdowns in this area for a decade. Widening all 7 kms at the same time would not have made that any worse, surely.

Having 4 different contractors separately run 7 km of highway widening seems like madness to me, but it is not my area of expertise.

 

[Haljackey]

Thanks for the pics!

Is it just me or does the highway seem really bendy here? Lots of little curves to and from the median despite the road being strait.

^11 years for that is insanity. I have been driving that stretch of highway on and off for the whole time and it boggles my mind that it couldn't be completed in a few years.

At least the next phase of widening is all one contract. Miltion-Mississauga is being done all at once.

Once this is done, I'd expect another widening contract to push 10 lanes (with 2 HOV) to Guelph while another contract pushes the widening from Kitchener east to Guelph. The Highway 6 rebuild around the 401 would have to be done first however.

 

[innsertnamehere]

Thanks for the pics!

Is it just me or does the highway seem really bendy here? Lots of little curves to and from the median despite the road being strait.



At least the next phase of widening is all one contract. Miltion-Mississauga is being done all at once.

Once this is done, I'd expect another widening contract to push 10 lanes (with 2 HOV) to Guelph while another contract pushes the widening from Kitchener east to Guelph. The Highway 6 rebuild around the 401 would have to be done first however.

MTO hasn't even completed the EA for the 401 between Highway 25 and Highway 6 yet, so that's a while off yet I think. Ford's changes to the Environmental Assessment Act make it a much simpler (and far quicker) process however so that's less of an issue than it used to be.

That stretch of the 401 generally operates pretty well still so it's not a huge rush if you ask me, especially since it's getting widened through Cambridge and for the Highway 6 overlap.

I'd rather focus funds elsewhere on the provincial network.

 

[nfitz]

The original express/collector from Kipling to Neilson was completed from 1967-72 and only took 2 years for each few kilometre sections.

Is that correct? I always thought it was supposed to be finished by 1967, but ended up taking close to a decade. Nielsen was done by 1972 ... I remember them working on that piece ... but I thought it was 1973 or later.

 

[Deadpool X]

I guess you would love dealing with a 30 km of continue construction tie up???

Getting stuck in bad traffic traffic for 15 years is worse than getting stuck in very bad traffic for 5 years.

 

[afransen]

^ Traffic is usually caused by chokepoints.

 

[Deadpool X]

Having 6 lanes when you need 10 lanes means the entire 6 lane section will be a choke point.

Look at 401 in Toronto in rush hours. There is no single choke point that makes entire 401 crawl. It is simply over capacity.