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I couldn't name off all of our current city councillors, let alone previous ones. Not knowing a journalist who writes in a niche paper, and a minor Toronto Star column, isn't unreasonable.
For the general public perhaps. But for someone with over 1,000 posts at Urban Toronto? That seems like a real stretch to me!
 
Adma,

You're going too far.

In tone, maybe; but not in the fundamental message.

(And ultimately, unless there's structural issues that suggest some imminent "Minneapolis I-35W" disaster in the offing or else some complete road reconfiguration a la the Humber Bay crossing, retention of the understructure seems prudent enough. And unlike those classic postwar "Ontario-shield" rigid-frame overpasses along the 400, these deck spans are no traffic bottleneck.)
 
For the general public perhaps. But for someone with over 1,000 posts at Urban Toronto? That seems like a real stretch to me!
Indeed. Isn't having a subscription to Spacing magazine, which Micallef is a senior editor of, a requirement for membership here? :)
 
Indeed. Isn't having a subscription to Spacing magazine, which Micallef is a senior editor of, a requirement for membership here? :)

I hope not. I know who he is but can never manage to get through an issue on account of the writing.
 
sounds like we could have couple new highways in the budget this spring...

The Ontario government’s statement will emphasize spending, particularly on infrastructure, to increase economic growth. The overall infrastructure outlay – $35-billion over three years – will remain unchanged, but Mr. Sousa is expected to announce new projects within that funding envelope.

He will also announce a dedicated infrastructure trust fund, into which the government can divert money to separate it from general revenue and ensure it is spent on capital projects. The fund could eventually be used to store dedicated revenue from the new taxes or fees the government hopes to put in place to fund public transit expansion.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ontarios-economic-plan-to-shift-focus-from-austerity-to-spending-and-growth/article15303331/
 
Southern Ontario Highways 2013-2017 is out!
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pu...ern-highway-2013/southern-highway-en-2013.pdf

here is 2012 for comparison
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pu...uthern-highway-2012/southern-highway-2012.pdf


here are a few changes I noticed where the dates were more defined

-401 widening in London moved to beyond 2017
-401 in Hwy*8*to*Regional*Rd.*24*(Hespler*Rd.),*Cambridge for 2016
-401 Burnham*St.*to*east*of*Nagel*Rd.,*Cobourg* Four*to*six‐lane*widening 2016
-17* Planned* Arnprior*By‐Pass,*Campbell*Drive*to*Scheel*Drive**Phase*2*Two*to*four*and*five‐lane*widening*2016*
 
That tends to confirm what I've heard about the 17 four laning - once the EA's are done, its being pushed back 10-20 years so the province can focus on resurfacing and bridge rehabilitation instead.
 
I'm surprised to see that the 401 from Trenton to Belleville isn't on the list for highway widenings. Having driven that stretch fairly frequently, I can say that it's the busiest section of the 401 east of Toronto that's still 4 lanes.
 
Southern Ontario Highways 2013-2017 is out!
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pu...ern-highway-2013/southern-highway-en-2013.pdf

here is 2012 for comparison
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/pu...uthern-highway-2012/southern-highway-2012.pdf


here are a few changes I noticed where the dates were more defined

-401 widening in London moved to beyond 2017
-401 in Hwy*8*to*Regional*Rd.*24*(Hespler*Rd.),*Cambridge for 2016
-401 Burnham*St.*to*east*of*Nagel*Rd.,*Cobourg* Four*to*six‐lane*widening 2016
-17* Planned* Arnprior*By‐Pass,*Campbell*Drive*to*Scheel*Drive**Phase*2*Two*to*four*and*five‐lane*widening*2016*

It's frustrating how the freeway section south of London keeps getting ignored.

And 10 lanes through KW?! That's insane! Although somewhat justified.
 
I'm surprised to see that the 401 from Trenton to Belleville isn't on the list for highway widenings. Having driven that stretch fairly frequently, I can say that it's the busiest section of the 401 east of Toronto that's still 4 lanes.
The AADT from 2010 says that the highest 4-lane segment east of Toronto is a tie between Burnham Street and Highway 45 in Cobourg (that's now planned for completion of widening in 2016) and the bridge over the Trent River in Trenton (I believe the recent rehabilitation of that bridge included adding extra lanes that I assume they will open once the widened 401 reaches that far).

After that the next busiest stretch is from Highway 45 in Cobourg to the next interchange east. Between Trenton and Belleville is certainly not far behind though. I'd think that 4-laning will continue to Belleville and then to Kingston in small pieces - in the same manner it's been ongoing since the 1970s. Ultimately though, I can't seeing it go past the 416.
 
The province wants to widen the entire 401 to 6 lanes eventually. I'd assume the section east of the 416 is the lowest priority, however.

Getting a third lane between Tilbury and London would certainly be an asset. The truck traffic there is insane. It sucks when they block both lanes (trucks passing other trucks). Trucks over 6.5m can't use the leftmost lane on most sections of the 400-series with three lanes or more in a direction.

A little sad that the work in London has been postponed yet again but I'd like to see the west side rebuilt soon. The weaving at the Highway 4 interchange is likely the worst in the province (if not the country) and the new overpass/interchange at Wonderland is more than warranted. Perhaps these will still be on track to start/finish in 2015/2016 with all the work done 'beyond 2017' (Highbury Expressway reconfiguration, bridge replacements at Westminster overpass and Pond Mills and CNR underpasses, VMP expansion, 8 lane widening from Wellington to Highbury).

Regarding 10 lanes between Highway 8 and 24, it's certainly warranted. Roughly half the 401's volume leaves/enters at the Highway 8 interchange so seeing two dedicated entrance/exit lanes will certainly help. Seeing them pushed all the way to 24 will be good too but this junction doesn't need 2 dedicated exit/entrance lanes right now. Perhaps once the 401 is 8 or 10 laned to Milton only one of them will become a through lane.

It is incredibly crazy just how much this province relies on one highway. The 401 is truly the backbone of Ontario's road infrastructure.
 
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The province wants to widen the entire 401 to 6 lanes eventually. I'd assume the section east of the 416 is the lowest priority, however.

Getting a third lane between Tilbury and London would certainly be an asset. The truck traffic there is insane. It sucks when they block both lanes (trucks passing other trucks). Trucks over 6.5m can't use the leftmost lane on most sections of the 400-series with three lanes or more in a direction.

A little sad that the work in London has been postponed yet again but I'd like to see the west side rebuilt soon. The weaving at the Highway 4 interchange is likely the worst in the province (if not the country) and the new overpass/interchange at Wonderland is more than warranted. Perhaps these will still be on track to start/finish in 2015/2016 with all the work done 'beyond 2017' (Highbury Expressway reconfiguration, bridge replacements at Westminster overpass and Pond Mills and CNR underpasses, VMP expansion, 8 lane widening from Wellington to Highbury).

Regarding 10 lanes between Highway 8 and 24, it's certainly warranted. Roughly half the 401's volume leaves/enters at the Highway 8 interchange so seeing two dedicated entrance/exit lanes will certainly help. Seeing them pushed all the way to 24 will be good too but this junction doesn't need 2 dedicated exit/entrance lanes right now. Perhaps once the 401 is 8 or 10 laned to Milton only one of them will become a through lane.

It is incredibly crazy just how much this province relies on one highway. The 401 is truly the backbone of Ontario's road infrastructure.

Ah don't worry - Calgary has the country beat with its 150m weave zones on multiple portions of its expressways... and these were just built over the past few years.
 
Geesh that sucks for Calgary. Who designed those?

Out of curiosity, I checked out the weave space on the 401/4 interchange.

Roughly 100m weave space on 401 WB. (Broken lane markings.)
21tgLUN.jpg


Interestingly enough, 401 EB is roughly 130m, likely due to the interchange orientation being 'looser' on this side.
 
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