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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

Much like the flurry of flying truck wheels, I foresee some kind of regulatory changes. I don't know what - it would likely be something they wouldn't need cross-jurisdiction commonality.
 
Makes sense to me, any widening north of this would likely be in scope of the 413 project, should it happen. No sense doing work here if there's a major reconfiguration needed as part of that build.

Any date proposed when this might begin? Seems needed now with the way Brampton has been growing.
 
It's just the EA, not detailed design - so likely not for several years at least. It does appear that it's being completed because MTO intends to move on it relatively soon though.
 
T3G said:
I can confirm. In my most recent role at work I've been one of the backroom receiving folk and we get all sorts of folk that make you wonder how they are capable of putting their pants on in the morning. They come in to this warehouse area in flip flops, their heads buried in phones or both airpods on, they are unable to answer even the most basic of questions about their load or follow their schedule (Scott's, the soil company, routinely has drivers arrive 6 hours early), they don't bother to put away their electronics before conducting the interaction, sometimes they offload freight off their truck with one hand while continuing to stare at their phone in their other. And if you're expecting them to say things like "Hello" or "goodbye", you've got another thing coming! But probably the most infuriating guy I had was one who went around the back area of the store and demanded that we remove the barricades we were using to block it off and sort through pallets so that he could get through, instead of doing what common sense would dictate and using the public road around the front of the store.

To that end, this result, though infuriating, is entirely in line with expectations. In fact I marvel at dump trucks I see on the road without their basket up!
Click to expand...
All of these stories pale in comparison to the psychopath I encountered today.

1718918613508.png


This is a service road behind the store I work at. It is not, technically speaking, a private road, but it is used for store business, for storing discarded pallets as shown, for offloading flatbed trucks, for storing soil and stone, etc. (The fact that this area is accessible to any random lunatic from the street is in and of itself a mistake).

Periodically, the discarded pallets need to be sorted and loaded onto a trailer to be shipped back to their owners, and when this is done barriers are erected across the width of the service road, and a spotter is on hand to block any traffic from entering. Unfortunately, there is a not small group of truck drivers who feel entitled to use this road as a transit point to their next destination, and I've exchanged words with more than one that demanded to be let through instead of doing the normal thing and going around the front of the store. I told today's shining specimen of humanity that he couldn't go through, we had to finish our work, you know, the usual song and dance and he got veryyyyy angry and said that if we didn't let him through, he would crash through the barrier and enter our workzone by force.

In retrospect, what I should have done was threaten to call the cops on him there and then, but I was so incensed that I told him he can speak to the forklift operator, who told him he would have to wait several minutes for us to finish the work, and then and ONLY then did he elect instead to back up.

The fact that any depraved lunatic can get behind the wheel of a truck is a sure sign that the system is breaking down.
 
T3G said:
All of these stories pale in comparison to the psychopath I encountered today.

View attachment 574158

This is a service road behind the store I work at. It is not, technically speaking, a private road, but it is used for store business, for storing discarded pallets as shown, for offloading flatbed trucks, for storing soil and stone, etc. (The fact that this area is accessible to any random lunatic from the street is in and of itself a mistake).

Periodically, the discarded pallets need to be sorted and loaded onto a trailer to be shipped back to their owners, and when this is done barriers are erected across the width of the service road, and a spotter is on hand to block any traffic from entering. Unfortunately, there is a not small group of truck drivers who feel entitled to use this road as a transit point to their next destination, and I've exchanged words with more than one that demanded to be let through instead of doing the normal thing and going around the front of the store. I told today's shining specimen of humanity that he couldn't go through, we had to finish our work, you know, the usual song and dance and he got veryyyyy angry and said that if we didn't let him through, he would crash through the barrier and enter our workzone by force.

In retrospect, what I should have done was threaten to call the cops on him there and then, but I was so incensed that I told him he can speak to the forklift operator, who told him he would have to wait several minutes for us to finish the work, and then and ONLY then did he elect instead to back up.

The fact that any depraved lunatic can get behind the wheel of a truck is a sure sign that the system is breaking down.
Click to expand...
It's even worse considering that trucking has been a race to the bottom for the past few years, and the standards are only going to go down. Dump trucks hitting *cking bridges wasn't a weekly thing a few years ago!
 
Infrastructure Ontario just released it's June 2024 Market Update. Curiously, a number of highway projects were dropped from the list:

June 2024:

1719499891334.png


December 2023:

1719499899453.png


The phase 1 Bradford Bypass was also previously listed as being in active procurement, and has been dropped.

I wonder if these projects have shifted to traditional MTO procurement models and off of IO's project list as a result? I'm not surprised by that for the Bradford Bypass, but I am surprised by the 413 disappearing given the scale of that project.
 
They are out of planning phase. We know they are going ahead, so presumably in procurement by others than IO. Ditto for the Hamilton LRT.
 
Contract awarded for the Bradford Bypass.

NEWS RELEASE

Ontario Awards Contract to Connect Highway 400 to Bradford Bypass​

Province building new interchange and widening Simcoe County Road 88
July 17, 2024
Ministry of Transportation
BRADFORD — The Ontario government is getting shovels in the ground on a new interchange at Highway 400 and Simcoe County Road 88 and a new southbound lane on Highway 400 that will connect to the future Bradford Bypass. Construction begins this summer and marks a significant milestone in the province’s plan to fight gridlock across the Greater Golden Horseshoe, help commuters spend less time in traffic and create good jobs for workers in the region.
“Our government is delivering on its promise to build the Bradford Bypass, expand our highway network and get people where they need to go,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. “Combined with the widening of Highway 400, these investments will help tackle gridlock, shorten travel times, and drive economic growth.”

The construction contract has been awarded to Dufferin Construction Company and includes building part of a southbound lane on Highway 400 that will connect to the new Bradford Bypass, reconstruction of the Highway 400-Simcoe County Road 88 interchange and its underpass bridge, widening Simcoe County Road 88 from two to four lanes and widening the Highway 400 platform to accommodate future expansion to 10 lanes.

“The people of York-Simcoe have been asking for the Bradford Bypass for nearly 50 years,” said Caroline Mulroney, MPP for York-Simcoe. “Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government is getting it done. We’re building new highways and expanding area roads that will ease congestion around Bradford West Gwillimbury, making life easier for area residents and commuters across York Region and Simcoe County.”

In May, the Ontario government awarded the contract for the detail design of the west section of the Bradford Bypass, which will run 6.5 kilometres from Highway 400 to Simcoe County Road 4. The Bradford Bypass will be a vital link for communities in York Region and Simcoe County, providing better connections to jobs and housing. During construction, the project is expected to support up to 2,200 jobs annually and contribute up to $286 million to the province’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Quick Facts​

  • Construction has started on widening four kilometres of Highway 400 from Langstaff Road to Major MacKenzie Drive from eight to 10 lanes. A new High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane is being added in each direction.
  • Widening 9.5 kilometres of Highway 400 from Major Mackenzie Drive to King Road from eight to 10 lanes is currently underway. One general purpose lane is being added in each direction.
  • Widening 12 kilometres of Highway 400 from King Road to Highway 9 from six to 10 lanes is currently underway. One HOV lane and one general purpose lane is being added in each direction.
  • The Highway 400-Simcoe County Road 88 underpass is one of several bridges that will be upgraded to accommodate the future Highway 400 widening.
  • The new four-lane, 16-kilometre Bradford Bypass is among more than 100 actions identified in Connecting the GGH: A Transportation Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
  • The Greater Golden Horseshoe is one of the fastest-growing regions in North America, welcoming more than 200,000 newcomers each year.

​

Additional Resources​

Ontario Awards Contract for Bradford Bypass
Click to expand...
 
Allandale25 said:
Contract awarded for the Bradford Bypass.
Click to expand...

Just for clarity, notwithstanding what the headline says, this is NOT the contract for building the Bradford Bypass, its for interchange work between Highway 400 and 88

1721240020545.png
 
They did the bush clearing for the hwy 88 contract this spring. It’s vaguely related to the bypass given its proximity, but really isn’t the highway itself.

@alexb, thanks for that - note that contractors must be rated for a bid of $400,000,000 - this is usually MTO’s upset limit of bid price. This is the largest traditional contract I’ve seen issued through MTOs procurement system and will likely result in a final award of $300-$350 million.

Usually contracts that size go through IO… hopefully this is a sign the government is moving back to more traditional procurement methods.

The Hwy 88 interchange work was won on a $91 million bid for a $115 million minimum rating for example… also shows how greenfield highway construction is a lot cheaper than rebuilding existing highways..
 
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