Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

[Markster]

Surprisingly, fitting a new expressway into the area does indeed complicate things, and not every movement can stay the same. Wellington still has full movement with the 85.

We're not building the 60's era plan anymore, because feeding an expressway onto a 2-lane residential street is a bad idea.

The Bruce St extension and the Wellington/Shirley realignment are going to be wonderful changes to the area.

 

[nfitz]

Ah, but there's the failure. Trying to pretend that Wellington should remain a 2-lane residential street. It's a primary artery into the growing downtown.

Maybe the age of expressways has past, but given how unnecessarily difficult it's been made to get from new 7 into downtown Kitchener, you have to wonder. It's not like they have been sensible and provided any transit alternatives from Guelph to Kitchener.

 

[Edward Skira]

Was out in Oshawa today for the first time in a while. Lots of work at the 401 for the new highway connection to the 407.

 

[innsertnamehere]

yup, the westbound lanes were realigned in October, and paving is now underway for the eastbound realignment. I bet that happens in the next month or so.

 

[nfitz]

Was out in Oshawa today for the first time in a while. Lots of work at the 401 for the new highway connection to the 407.

The one near the Oshawa/Clarington Border (Highway 418)? I think it's entirely in Clarington, but it's the closest one to Oshawa; I didn't know there was much to see yet (haven't been out that way since Christmas) Or the one in Whitby near the Lakeridge Road and the border with Whitby (Highway 412)? It's been under construction for a couple of years now.

 

[Edward Skira]

The one in Whitby near Ajax. Ramps over the 401 are being built.

 

[Haljackey]

Highway 401 extension / Herb Grey Parkway set to open next week

Main thread:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=188722

Story:
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/news/herb-gray-parkway-only-days-away-from-opening-to-traffic

Some pics:

 

[ShonTron]

I don't understand why the MTO is wed to the older FHWA "Highway Gothic" typeface for its signage while most other jurisdictions (like the City of Toronto) now have gone to Clearview.

 

[drum118]

At Monday Planning and development in Mississauga, a project for a plaza on the QEW south service road surface just east of Hurontario.

The landowner want to scrap the plaza as it only has 1 tenant and converted to 26 3s townhouses. The standard opposing to it with most being too tall since most homes are 1-2s in the first place.

What was most interesting and it took the ward councilor back, was the comment by the owner that MTO has requested that this development have an additional 14m setback from the current QEW ROW limits for future expansion of the QEW.

If MTO wants this extra 14m, that will mean all the existing homes on the south service road will have to be torn down all the way east to Dixie Rd when time come to expand the QEW. What MTO needs to do is put in both service roads over the Port Credit River so traffic is not gridlocking Lakeshore and Dundas, as they are the 2 only east-west roads near the QEW when it goes down.

Because of this 14m, the development has been reduce to 24 units.

 

[howl]

That 14m setback is standard across the whole province for new development beside all highways (2-lane and multi-lane). MTO has scaled back its manpower and can no longer review every development application individually, so they just say they need 14m to protect for any potential widening for everything no matter what. Trying to argue with them is futile.

 

[Adjei]

I don't like the concrete on the highways.

 

[Haljackey]

Tons of photos via

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=188722&page=29

A lot of pictures are popping up in the local media of this project since it is about to open. I thought I'd share some of them.

source: http://blogs.windsorstar.com/news/parkway-to-open-new-world-for-windsors-drivers

The next 3 links are sets of photos showing the border road before construction, during construction (recap) and some of the neighbourhoods that had to be torn down for the parkway

http://windsorite.ca/2015/06/photos-border-road-before-the-parkway/

http://windsorite.ca/2015/06/photos-border-road-neighborhoods-bulldozed/

http://windsorite.ca/2015/06/photos-boarder-road-parkway-construction/


Finally an article talking about the first steps toward building the new bridge are a few days away.

http://blogs.windsorstar.com/busine...ilding-the-new-bridge-coming-in-next-few-days

 

[Edward Skira]

What's the deal with those large decked over areas above the highway? Regular bridges couldn't suffice?

 

[Markster]

What's the deal with those large decked over areas above the highway? Regular bridges couldn't suffice?

To lessen the impact on the ground of the new expressway. The province hasn't built a new urban freeway in a long time, and those large vegetated areas at all the crossings with an extensive trail network were basically the payback to the community for having this new freeway cut through the area and demolish a bunch of homes.

Bridges technically work, but remember the last time you walked over a 6 lane expressway on a bridge? Not the nicest experience.

 

[BurlOak]

What's the deal with those large decked over areas above the highway? Regular bridges couldn't suffice?

Why build a $5M bridge when you can build a $75M one instead