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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

Coruscanti Cognoscente said:
Will they [hwy 417 Arnprior and hwy 17] eventually connect? If so maybe they'll wait till they do to have the whole thing have a 400-number. I don't think the MTO wants another 403 situation again.
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Looking at the traffic volumes along highway 17, many sections have traffic volumes similar to highway 69 at French River. Based on traffic, I agree that it will never be a continuous freeway. However, based on politics, I think it is possible that any portion could be turned into a freeway, depending on the individuals involved. The entire freeway to Sudbury is based on hopeful "economic developement" of the north, and not based on traffic needs.
 
ShonTron said:
Highway 115 isn't a 400-series highway because of the concurrent RIRO expressway with 35. 115 didn't start off as a freeway to begin with, but a controlled access two-lane highway between Peterborough and 35.
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Actually, while 115 was built along a designated future controlled access corridor (the 407 already having been mooted in the 1950s), it didn't actually itself become controlled access (except for the Hwy 28 interchange) until its 1980s widening. Up to that time, it was at least as notorious a homecoming-cottager bottleneck as 11, 69 et al from Muskoka...
 
BurlOak said:
Looking at the traffic volumes along highway 17, many sections have traffic volumes similar to highway 69 at French River. Based on traffic, I agree that it will never be a continuous freeway. However, based on politics, I think it is possible that any portion could be turned into a freeway, depending on the individuals involved. The entire freeway to Sudbury is based on hopeful "economic developement" of the north, and not based on traffic needs.
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Its more of a complete 100% bypass around Sudbury is the point of freeway-ing and re-positioning the highway, which runs through neighbourhoods in one part of the city. Also there is no appetite for a super 2 in the city - the province attempted this on highway 17 with a super 2 interchange and were slammed by politicians and citizens, and - the province is attempting to do this as cheap as possible. There are two roads that lead to vastly different parts of the city and the province will only build one interchange. The other road will be dead-end at the highway. Its a battle royale right now deciding what road will get the interchange, I don't believe a decision has been made yet.
 
Well... they are actively planning large portions of four laning 17 from Soo to Mattawa Link ... page 9. Its also interesting to quote page 7:

• A four-lane divided Controlled Access Highway is the preferred standard
for Highway 17 and the Trans-Canada Highway
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I should also note highway 69 (and 400 once it fully supersedes 69) is also a trans canada highway. So the federal government is likely kicking in atleast 1/3rd or more in costs. Here is another link for the planning of the North Bay to east of Mattawa... http://www.highway17routeplanning.ca/highway17routeplanning/index.html I'll see if I can find more for the Soo to Sudbury portion - but these plans may be deeply buried.
 
Kitsune said:
Well... they are actively planning large portions of four laning 17 from Soo to Mattawa Link ... page 9. Its also interesting to quote page 7:



I should also note highway 69 (and 400 once it fully supersedes 69) is also a trans canada highway. So the federal government is likely kicking in atleast 1/3rd or more in costs. Here is another link for the planning of the North Bay to east of Mattawa... http://www.highway17routeplanning.ca/highway17routeplanning/index.html I'll see if I can find more for the Soo to Sudbury portion - but these plans may be deeply buried.
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Very interesting info, thanks! I had no idea plans were that far along for a lot of that route. It sounds like, at least for the section between North Bay and Renfrew County, that they are planning for a 4-lane highway: "The main purpose of this study is to determine a new controlled access four-lane highway route for Highway 17 within the study limits."

Interesting.
 
Kitsune said:
Its more of a complete 100% bypass around Sudbury is the point of freeway-ing and re-positioning the highway, which runs through neighbourhoods in one part of the city. Also there is no appetite for a super 2 in the city - the province attempted this on highway 17 with a super 2 interchange and were slammed by politicians and citizens, and - the province is attempting to do this as cheap as possible. There are two roads that lead to vastly different parts of the city and the province will only build one interchange. The other road will be dead-end at the highway. Its a battle royale right now deciding what road will get the interchange, I don't believe a decision has been made yet.
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Kitsune, which interchange are you talking about? The 69/Regent interchange with 17?

I'm quite familiar with Sudbury's geography. The Highway 17 freeway and the connecting southeast and southwest bypasses don't run through local neighbourhoods. The Paris Street interchange was done quite recently as a Super 2. Of course the Highway 69/Regent St interchange will be re-thought.
 
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Yes - the Long Lake Road / 17 bypass. And by 17 running through neighbourhoods, I'm referring to Coniston and Wahnapatie (yes I butchered those names badly). You got to remember - Sudbury got it way way worse then Toronto did with Amalgamation.
 
Right -where Highway 17 is still on its original alignment in the east end of the City of Greater Sudbury.

Sudbury is unique as it is the only municipality in Canada to have two scheduled shops of VIA's Canadian within its boundaries.

The one and only thing that the forced amalgamation did right (apart from the fact that it reduced the number of Sudburys from three to two - District, RM and City) was force them to have a single bus system (which works relatively well with is dispersed population).
 
Made a new video showing the Dougall Parkway in Windsor and the reconstructed approach on Highway 401. Hope you like!

[video=youtube;A8vpSbdu6z4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A8vpSbdu6z4[/video]
 
innsertnamehere said:
I'm guessing the reason it got renamed is because it got downloaded to the municipality?
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Yep, that would be correct.

The Windsor-Essex Parkway was also re-named as the "Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway" - a career Liberal politican whose biggest achievement was sitting in Parliament longer than anyone else. Of course, the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway designation has pretty much vanished, so I expect the Herb Gray section will just be called the 401 as the freeway is extended to the new bridge.
 
innsertnamehere said:
the windsor essex parkway will be provincially owned though right?
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Short answer yes, long answer is a bit complicated. It's one of these "Alternate Financing Procurement" projects (a sanitized name for P3) has the construction and maintenance done by a private company by contract. There won't be any direct tolls, though.
 
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