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Full Version: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Townline Road
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The new WB 401 - WB Hwy 8 ramp looks about ready to be paved too. This is the one thats running on the right side of the columns for the Fountain St bridge
I always have such a hard time imagining 8 as WB. To me, it’s always been North. You go West on 401, then turn 90° right at exit 278. That’s North. Tongue

I will be so happy to not have to deal with that really uneven “kink” transition in that curve once traffic is shifted to the new ramp.
(09-01-2014, 06:10 PM)Shawn Wrote: [ -> ]Jan 10, 2014
Waterloo Region Record
By Jeff Hicks

LINK to article
WATERLOO REGION — Six lanes will become 10.
>
"This will be the new look of the widened Highway 401 between Hespeler Road and Highway 8 in about two years. The Ministry of Transportation's target completion date for all that work, which is still in the bidding process, is 2016."
Well here we are and it is April 2018 and I have no understanding or visualization of when the Hespeler - Highway 8 section will be completed even as I drive through from either end.
November 2018?
November 2019?
Does anyone have a confirmed completion date?
The Ontario government seems to have "mission creep" on most projects outside the GTA ... November 2020?
Where is the public meltdown about this?

Oh yeah, it’s a road. Nobody cares when highways are months (years!) late, just LRT.

(I hate it and drive it every day, too.)
(04-20-2018, 12:37 AM)MacBerry Wrote: [ -> ]
(09-01-2014, 06:10 PM)Shawn Wrote: [ -> ]Jan 10, 2014
Waterloo Region Record
By Jeff Hicks

LINK to article
WATERLOO REGION — Six lanes will become 10.
>
"This will be the new look of the widened Highway 401 between Hespeler Road and Highway 8 in about two years. The Ministry of Transportation's target completion date for all that work, which is still in the bidding process, is 2016."
Well here we are and it is April 2018 and I have no understanding or visualization of when the Hespeler - Highway 8 section will be completed even as I drive through from either end.
November 2018?
November 2019?
Does anyone have a confirmed completion date?
The Ontario government seems to have "mission creep" on most projects outside the GTA ... November 2020?

  Actually, this contract is moving along right on schedule.  It was awarded in 2015 and construction started in 2015 with a completion date of Summer 2019.  All indications look as if they will meet that date.
  What may make it seem longer is the Speedsville and Fountain street bridge replacements and the refurbishing of the flyover from Hwy 8 to 401 started in 2014. 

https://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2015/06/o...ridge.html

https://www.therecord.com/news-story/566...cambridge/
(04-20-2018, 06:07 AM)Canard Wrote: [ -> ]Where is the public meltdown about this?

Oh yeah, it’s a road. Nobody cares when highways are months (years!) late, just LRT.

(I hate it and drive it every day, too.)

Probably because it isn't behind schedule?? The news release stated that the work (before it started) would be completed by summer 2019. The outcry was back in 2015 that it was a 4 year project. Would be great to get it done in a year or two, but obviously that's not practical.

As for the LRT:

Quote:It wasn’t until February 2017 that the first vehicle showed up. On that day, officials said that the second vehicle would arrive in June, with a new vehicle following every two weeks or so after that.

That was last year.

That's the difference. Now if the MTO was telling us that, after they started the project, instead of 2019, it will be 2020, then people will be upset. If when 2020 comes, they tell us 2021, people will be ever more upset. The MTO isn't doing that, but the LRT/Ion/Bombardier is. We were told 2017, then 2018, now it's likely 2019.

For what it's worth, I can't recall the last time they weren't working on the area highways, it's been a continual thing since I first started driving; expanding the 401 to 6 lanes from Milton to Townline, then Townline to Highway 8, then Homer Watson, then all the way to London, putting up the barrier during that time, the highway 8 bypass into Kitchener, the barrier from Lancaster to Courtland (then Fisher-Hallman), Expressway expanded from King St to beyond Northfield (Waterloo) and Fisher-Hallman to New Hamburg, the flyover to Highway 8, expanding highway 8 from 4 lanes to 8 lanes, expanding the expressway to at least 6 lanes from the collectors/express to Fisher-Hallman. And I know that I am missing stuff here (I realize this isn't all in order).

I imagine after all the current work is completed, we'll have more work, like a flyover from Highway 8 to westbound 401. Expanding the expressway from Lancaster to King (Waterloo) or Northfield, including a barrier. Perhaps expansion of 407 ETR out towards Guelph and a link-up to the highway 7 expressway. Plus we know we're getting an exchange at River Rd/Highway 8 at some point. I'm guessing a highway 24 bypass to Brantford as well, linking to the 403. Perhaps highway 7 will expand, with a bypass, towards Stratford, then perhaps head south towards the 401 to link-up with the 403/401 in Woodstock.

Highways are non-stop....that's frustrating. What else is frustrating are things like highway 7 towards Guelph which has been promised for a million years but only getting a start now...but as far as I know, it too is on schedule.
The flyover from 8 to 401 east is down to one lane. Not an issue when I travel through at 530a, but I could see it being annoying during rush hour.
When I cam back into town this afternoon at 4:20pm, outbound traffic was backed up about halfway between the Sportsworld and King St. exits (really, really far).

Does anyone know what they are "doing" this time? Will something be reconfigured again?
The left lane has been slightly shifted for a while now. Looks like it's now been torn up. It was early and dark, so I didn't get good look.
I drove through here yesterday and it is a real mess in both directions.

Maple Grove is not a viable alternative due to the volume of truck traffic. The truck drivers also seem to have no shame in hogging both lanes, causing a jam up of cars behind them.
Is there some sort of law in Ontario about trucks driving in the left-most lane on a 6-lane road? I rarely ever see it happen to the extent that when I do see it happen, I feel a little miffed that they're blocking traffic. I've also seen a cop pull over a truck in the left-most lane before, but I don't know if that's why they were getting pulled over. I've never noticed signage to that effect, so I assume trucks are free to drive in any lane, but it's so unusual that I wonder if it's something truckers just know.
They're almost never (maybe never) allowed in the left hand lane on 6-lane stretches of highways like the 400-series highways.

I assume they're allowed in the left hand lane on 6-lane city roads. They may generally avoid it though because I assume changing lanes to the right is harder than changing lanes to the left. And so unless you're turning left up ahead, you'd want to stay in the centre or right lane.
The recently added No Heavy Truck signs to the conestoga Parkway between the Krug St Bridge and Fischer Hallman.
I believe its not allowed but its mostly done via signage. Most overhead structures on the 401 have the No truck sign over the leftmost lane.
(04-24-2018, 05:50 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: [ -> ]I’m a bit confused. You’re saying it’s dangerous for trucks to pass in the passing lane? I feel like I may be missing some specifics of the situation.

No, I'm not saying that.

I'm saying it's dangerous for them to be in the leftmost lane when there are 3+ lanes.

If there are only two lanes, it is the only way one truck can pass another.

This is why I so loved in Europe seeing trucks limited to 90 km/h everywhere. It just runs so much more smoothly and safely.
The sign went up aboht 30 minutes ago - Franklin St. Bridge will be closing May 26. Sad

No opening date was listed.

EDIT: This morning I saw that the Franklin St. Exit, 284, will close May 21.
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