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It's Ford drove work, no HOV extensions, unfortunately.

Exited at Ford Drive off the QEW yesterday afternoon. I could be mistaken but it looks like they are building the much-needed North-East and East-North ramps connecting the QEW and 403.

It certainly looks like the 401 to Steeles section will be complete/open very soon....the driving is all on the new lanes created out of the medians now and the work being done is resurficing/re-jigging the lanes/ramps on the right side of the road.

It also appears like a new interchange is being built at Courtney Park as well for NB drivers. I don't know how well that new exit ramp will work considering how much closer it will be to the 401 ramp.
 
Still a lot to be done...there will be a mini express/collector northbound setup from 401 to Courtney Park. By the end of 2017 there should be one more lane available and the HOV open by end of 2018.

So new setup will mean only 401 users will access the new Courtney Park exit? Will 403 users now have to exit at Derry Road?
 
So new setup will mean only 401 users will access the new Courtney Park exit? Will 403 users now have to exit at Derry Road?

There will be an exit for 403 NB to access Courtney Park before the express/collector starts...but it'll still be quite a weave to reach the Courtney Park exit (will have to move 3 lanes to the right in less than 1km).
 
There will be an exit for 403 NB to access Courtney Park before the express/collector starts...but it'll still be quite a weave to reach the Courtney Park exit (will have to move 3 lanes to the right in less than 1km).

The current layout is bad enough, although the construction lanes separating EB and WB 401 travelers has made moving over 3 lanes easier with slower 401 traffic.
 
Exited at Ford Drive off the QEW yesterday afternoon. I could be mistaken but it looks like they are building the much-needed North-East and East-North ramps connecting the QEW and 403.
Looks like it is only bridge rehabilitation. http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/trip/construction_reports-central.shtml#Contract2015-2023

The EA was completed years ago for adding the additional ramps, but I can't seem to find any recent news on it. My guess is lack of funding at this time.
 
Still a lot to be done...there will be a mini express/collector northbound setup from 401 to Courtney Park. By the end of 2017 there should be one more lane available and the HOV open by end of 2018.
Not saying your wrong....but there is no mention of an express/collector system on the project web page....do you have a link to show how this will look/work?

http://www.my410.ca/sitepages/projectbackground.html
 
Not saying your wrong....but there is no mention of an express/collector system on the project web page....do you have a link to show how this will look/work?

http://www.my410.ca/sitepages/projectbackground.html

Haven't heard of any express/collector system either. My initial thought was there would be a concrete barrier similar to the southern 404 before Sheppard that separates 401 and DVP users. This layout would mean 403 driversto get off at Derry while 401 drivers can use Courtney Park if they wish. I can't see moving over 3-4 lanes to get off at C.P. in less than 1 km as a very safe thing to do.
 
Celebrating 60 years of Highway 401 in Toronto

Built to solve some of Toronto's traffic woes, the local section of Highway 401 has instead become one of the busiest roadways in the world.

From this link.

Here are five things to know about the origins of the 401 on its 60th birthday.

1. The 401 was supposed to be a Toronto bypass

In 1950, prior to construction of the 401 and Gardiner Expressway, all east-west motor traffic in Southern Ontario had to pass through downtown Toronto using regular city streets. The 401—originally billed as a "bypass"—was built in conjunction with Highway 400 to divert traffic over top of Toronto through what was then mostly fields and new housing subdivisions.

2. The interchanges were amazing

Most motorists in Toronto had never experienced a highway interchange until the 401 opened. The gigantic cloverleaf at the intersection of the 400 and 401—nicknamed the "Crossroads of Canada" for its sheer scale—was the most complex ever built in Ontario when it was finished. The province thought the interchanges so complex that it made charts available to schools "with a view to educating drivers to be."

web-interchanges.jpg

Torstar News Service file

When it was first built, local drivers were awed by the 401’s complex interchanges.

3. The road was supposed be lined with trees and flowers

It was to be a "thing of beauty to behold." As part of Highway 401 construction, the province agreed to replace every tree it chopped down, making the Toronto portion of the highway a giant avenue of more than 300,000 maples, pines, and Douglas firs. The province also toyed with the idea of planting 2.5-metre rose bushes along the shoulder of the roadway; partly to beautify the road, and partly as a safety measure. The roses, the highways department thought, would slow motorists and act as snow fences in winter.

4. Construction didn't go as planned

The Toronto portion of the 401 contained one of the largest concentrations of highway bridges, overpasses, and underpasses in the province, and building all these gigantic structures at the same time was a significant engineering challenge. Hurricane Hazel heavily damaged the unfinished bridge over the Humber River in 1954 and the bridge at the Don River had to be redesigned when soil conditions proved challenging. A shortage of structural steel from the United States also delayed the project.

hwy-401-archive2-city-of-toronto-archives-.jpg.size.xxlarge.promo.jpg

City of Toronto Archives

Building the local portion of Highway 401 took more than six years, and was delayed by everything from hurricanes to steel shortages.

5. The 401 was never a driver's paradise

No sooner had it opened were drivers complaining of traffic tie-ups. Thousands of people living in the vicinity of the highway used the 401 for local trips, slowing down those using the road for its intended purpose: bypassing Toronto. The road, which was designed more than a decade before it opened, was already a target for expansion to six lanes in April, 1956. Sixty years later, the Toronto portion of the 401 is the busiest section of highway in the world.
 
Another chunk of highway 69 four laning opened: http://dailycommercialnews.com/Infr...y-69-twinning-linking-its-way-north-1018080W/

That leaves 82km left. 14km is under construction (you can see the route on google earth, it'll go over both the French and Pickeral river). Another 22km-ish from that section to the Magnewtwan river may or may not be under construction - at the very least they are realigning the CNR tracks to allow for the highway 522 interchange. The Magnewtwan reserve has ratified for the new highway, leaving 2 others and the rest of the highway to go. Also, the province has put the Sudbury portion on the backburner as well as four laning the remaining portion of 17 in the city.
 
Another chunk of highway 69 four laning opened: http://dailycommercialnews.com/Infr...y-69-twinning-linking-its-way-north-1018080W/

That leaves 82km left. 14km is under construction (you can see the route on google earth, it'll go over both the French and Pickeral river). Another 22km-ish from that section to the Magnewtwan river may or may not be under construction - at the very least they are realigning the CNR tracks to allow for the highway 522 interchange. The Magnewtwan reserve has ratified for the new highway, leaving 2 others and the rest of the highway to go. Also, the province has put the Sudbury portion on the backburner as well as four laning the remaining portion of 17 in the city.
Finally! MTO and the liberals are really taking their time. Originally promised everything will be done by 2017. Now they are claiming 2021. If they really want to make that date, the remaining 82km needs to be tender out with the next months and awarded before 2018. Otherwise the link won't be completed by 2021 with the danger of further delay when another government reigns over Ontario in 2018.
 
I believe the twinning into Sudbury is still planned, but after the completion of the 400 up to the existing portion. Think 2025 or so completion, not 2021. That project has also gotten more complicated and expensive, since they changed it from the original plan of bypassing the current untwinned 4 lane stretch to following the existing alignment.
 
No its been completely removed from all maps now. I ponder if Sudbury had that money diverted to another project.
 
News Release

Canada's First High Occupancy Toll Lanes Open September 15
September 14, 2016

Ontario’s New Travel Option Will Help Manage Congestion for Commuters
Ontario is opening Canada's first High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes tomorrow, providing a new travel option for commuters that will improve traffic flow, maximize highway capacity, and help manage congestion.

The province is opening HOT lanes on 16.5 kilometres of the QEW in both directions, from Trafalgar Rd. in Oakville to Guelph Line in Burlington. Vehicles with two or more occupants can still travel in the lanes for free, while drivers of single-occupant vehicles can apply to purchase a permit. No existing general purpose lanes have been removed, and drivers are not required to pay to use any lanes on the QEW that they are currently allowed to use for free.

In August, Ontario received more than 3,400 applications for HOT lanes permits. A random draw was used to allocate 500 permits for the first term which runs from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31, 2016. Permit applications and renewals for the next term, Jan. 1 to March 31, 2017, open on Nov. 1, 2016 and can be submitted at Ontario.ca/HOTLanes. This pilot project will run for up to four years and will support the planning of a more efficient highway network.

As part of the pilot, Ontario issued a Request for Information (RFI) for innovative technologies to support tolling, compliance and performance monitoring of HOT lanes. The RFI supports Ontario's innovation sector by providing an opportunity to test emerging traffic management and tolling technologies.

Ontario is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province's history -- about $160 billion over 12 years, which is supporting 110,000 jobs every year across the province, with projects such as hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit. Since 2015, the province has announced support for more than 475 projects that will keep people and goods moving, connect communities and improve quality of life. To learn more about infrastructure projects in your community, go to Ontario.ca/BuildON.

Investing in new travel options and supporting innovation is part of the government's economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. The plan is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit in Ontario's history and is investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement.


QUICK FACTS
    • Up to 1,000 HOT permits will be made available for each three-month term, beginning with approximately 500 permits in the first term.
    • For the first term only, permits will be valid from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31, 2016, giving permit holders an additional two weeks of HOT lane use as an early incentive bonus.
    • Permits cost $180 for a three-month term and are renewable for a maximum of two terms.
    • A 15.5 km stretch of dedicated HOT lanes with electronic tolling in both directions on Highway 427 will open in 2021, from south of Highway 409 to north of Rutherford Rd.
    • HOT lanes will complement other initiatives, such as GO Regional Express Rail that will increase GO train trips by 50 per cent over the next five years with more stops serving more communities.
 
I believe the twinning into Sudbury is still planned, but after the completion of the 400 up to the existing portion. Think 2025 or so completion, not 2021. That project has also gotten more complicated and expensive, since they changed it from the original plan of bypassing the current untwinned 4 lane stretch to following the existing alignment.
Wasn't the plan was to bypass it to the east cause there is too many properties along that last stretch? I guess it was too expensive either way or it runs into too much natural habitat. The is a long term plan to twin the entire Highway 17 from Echo Bay to North Bay. The entire southwest bypass will be twinned an upgraded to 400 standard freeway. Highway 69/400 will meet Highway 17 at a different location with a freeway-to-freeway interchange. I don't think the twinning will be done till the late-2020s. Once Highway 69 is done, MTO can divert their priority to Highway 17.

In the meanwhile, twinning between the Manitoba boarder to Kenora has been stalled for a decade now with federal funds. It seems to take a million years for anything to happen in Ontario. Quebec decided to finish off twinning the A85 which runs in similar terrain. They do however receive federal funding for it since it's an important part of the TCH. I'm not sure how much federal funds will be contributed to twinning Highway 17.
 

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