+- Waterloo Region Connected (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com)
+-- Forum: Waterloo Region Works (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=14)
+--- Forum: Transportation and Infrastructure (https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=25)
+--- Thread: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Townline Road (/showthread.php?tid=75)
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - boatracer - 06-02-2017
When I drove by last night they have 3 lanes worth of line painted on the new eastbound lanes that have been constructed next to Rogers Drive. Presumably the EB traffic will shift there once they install some barriers.
Edit: should have read DHLawrence's post first.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - The85 - 06-03-2017
(06-02-2017, 06:18 AM)Canard Wrote: Those high mast lights are going to be amazing. I absolutely adore driving on highways at night with them - so much better!!
The high mast lights here that were recently installed appear to be a new design for the MTO - I noticed they have a cylindrical shield around the luminaires - similar to the high mast lights on the Gardiner Expressway and DVP in Toronto. Given there is no residential immediately adjacent to the 401 in this location, I'm curious as to the purpose of the shields, or if this is a new MTO standard.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - Canard - 06-03-2017
I noticed the shields as well - it didn't occur to me that they might be to capture stray light. I just thought they looked cool.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - DHLawrence - 06-03-2017
Definitely a bonus for those living on Marmel Court and whose yards back onto the highway. Don't envy them; a massive closure of Fountain followed by all this.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - jamincan - 06-06-2017
The new EB lanes were open today. The exit ramp to Hespeler continues to be the old ramp, though.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - Canard - 06-06-2017
Wooo! Looking forward to trying it out.
The new shorter exit config westbound is horrific.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - Canard - 06-06-2017
Ahhh, I love switchover days, when everyone is on autopilot and swerve at the last minute realizing there's a lane shift. Wheeee!
Looks like the new lanes coming down the ramp from 8 will take the "rightmost" opening of the fountain bridge.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - jamincan - 06-06-2017
It's a little awkward coming on from 8 at the moment as the highway shifts to the right almost immediately after making the merge. It will be better when the 8S-401E ramps are completed and the jog left and then right is smoothed out.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - p2ee - 06-06-2017
(06-06-2017, 06:56 AM)Canard Wrote: The new shorter exit config westbound is horrific.
I honestly didn't find it all that bad. At one point I thought I must have missed the exit, but once I realized that I hadn't it was fairly easy going. I suspect it might be worse in the morning or evening rush hour though. I was driving in very light traffic.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - jamincan - 06-06-2017
Yeah, it is causing a bit more of a snarl than usual and causing backups in the left two lanes that would normally move quite well after Hespeler. Not as bad as I would have expected though.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - Canard - 06-06-2017
No, it's absolutely awful now, because the capacity loss is increased. We at least before had SOME hope that effective lane capacity could be maintained at 2x through the whole transition (provided everyone in the right lane immediately moves right, and then people in the centre lane have a brief moment to shuffle over).
Now, there is no crossover at all, so it is effectively down to 1 lane. Bad bad bad.
The new setup will be flawless because lanes 1 and 2 become the ramp itself. Lanes 3-5 continue straight through - utopia.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - Canard - 06-06-2017
The best temporary setup here would have been to make the right lane exit-only, middle lane a branch, and left lane straight through.
It would have reduced effective lane capacity straight through from 3 to 2, but effective lane capacity for 8 goes from 1 to 2. This is more balanced since about 50% of traffic exits here.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - p2ee - 06-06-2017
I have a feeling MTO wants to avoid reducing lanes on the 401 as much as possible, but you're right it'd make more sense to reduce a lane westbound than eastbound (and currently they have it backwards).
One thing that is somewhat shocking about this project is that they're taking 5 years to widen 4 kms of highway. Down in Chicago, they're in the process of widening (maybe they're already done?) about 40 kms of I-90 from 6 lanes to 10. That highway is just as busy (maybe even slightly more) and they have similar climate as us. And their timeline is about 2.5 years. Some people have mentioned the replacement of speed river bridges as the reason, but in the I-90 project they're also replacing the bridge over Fox river, which seems to be about as wide as grand river (google street view here).
And there's an obvious pattern here.. 4 years to add 2.5 km of express-collector in Mississauga back in 2010-2013 and another 4 years to add another 2.5 km of express collector currently under construction.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - danbrotherston - 06-06-2017
(06-06-2017, 08:15 PM)p2ee Wrote: I have a feeling MTO wants to avoid reducing lanes on the 401 as much as possible, but you're right it'd make more sense to reduce a lane westbound than eastbound (and currently they have it backwards).
One thing that is somewhat shocking about this project is that they're taking 5 years to widen 4 kms of highway. Down in Chicago, they're in the process of widening (maybe they're already done?) about 40 kms of I-90 from 6 lanes to 10. That highway is just as busy (maybe even slightly more) and they have similar climate as us. And their timeline is about 2.5 years. Some people have mentioned the replacement of speed river bridges as the reason, but in the I-90 project they're also replacing the bridge over Fox river, which seems to be about as wide as grand river (google street view here).
And there's an obvious pattern here.. 4 years to add 2.5 km of express-collector in Mississauga back in 2010-2013 and another 4 years to add another 2.5 km of express collector currently under construction.
I'm quite certain they weren't widening 40 km, that would be the entire length of the highway through the city, perhaps, 40 lane kms (10 kms total), even 10 kms would be quite impressive in 2.5 years, I question if that's the entire project. The 5 year timeline here, includes rebuilding number of bridges before any apparent work starts.
RE: Highway 401 Widening - Highway 8 to Hespeler Road - Canard - 06-06-2017
Do you think it's a money thing? Like, is it somehow cheaper to do this more slowly (fewer workers)?
I don't even remember - when is all of this widening scheduled to wrap up? And when does the "second phase" up to Franklin start? Really, this is going to be a mess until that's also complete.