The Downsview Complex is a provincial office site located in the Downsview neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario , Canada.
83-525: First developed in the 1950s during the construction of Ontario Highway 401 and residential neighbourhood from former farmland, the site is currently the location of the Ministry of Transportation 's Toronto office (and part of the overall HQ staff) and the Ontario Provincial Police 's Downsview detachment. Provincial driving test also takes place there. In 2010, re-development of the site began, in
166-560: A concrete road known as the Toronto–Hamilton Highway was proposed in January 1914. Construction began on November 8 of that year, following the onset of World War I . The highway was designed to run along the lake shore, instead of Dundas Street to the north, because the numerous hills encountered along Dundas would have increased costs without improving accessibility. Middle Road, a dirt lane named because of its position between
249-419: A final transfer allows eastbound traffic in the collector lanes to transfer to the 401 express lanes which continue past Highway 427 as the single 401 carriageway. The 401 collector lanes then become ramps to Highway 427 after a final exit at Renforth Drive. For westbound traffic, the 401's single westbound carriageway becomes the highway's express lanes. The exit ramps from Highway 427 merge to form
332-540: A loop ramp. In the fall of 1991, alongside the widening of Highway 410 into a full freeway, construction began on the connecting ramps between Highway 403 and Highway 410, which pass under the existing bridge structures carrying Highway 401 (which would soon be designated as the collector lanes), while new overpasses were constructed for the Highway ;401 express lanes which were extended from east of Tomken Road to just east of Kennedy Road. Plans were made to extend
415-400: A mix of agricultural land and forests, maintaining a straight course. Highway 401 passes through the north end of the towns of Port Hope and Cobourg with two interchanges each. Just east of Cobourg, the highway narrows to four lanes and the terrain becomes undulating, with the highway routed around hills and through valleys along the shores of Lake Ontario. At Trenton , the highway crosses
498-439: A new set of flyover ramps from the express lanes to Highway 403 which opened in 1984, while a basketweave transfer between the eastbound collector and express lanes near Pearson Airport was completed in mid-1985. At this time, the Highway 401 express lanes merged into the collector lanes east of Tomken Road which resulted in a temporary left-handed exit/entry for the ramps to/from the Highway 403 express lanes. After
581-436: A plan designed to limit damage to the sensitive agricultural lands through which the highway runs. Here the highway's flat and straight route is notorious for leading to driver inattention. The section from Windsor to London (especially west of Tilbury ) has become known for deadly car accidents and pile-ups , earning it the nickname Carnage Alley . As the highway approaches London, Highway 402 merges in, resulting in
664-528: A plan expected to be implemented over a 20-year span. First to be built was the new location for the province's Ontario Centre of Forensic Sciences and Coroner's office (re-located from downtown Toronto) on Wilson Avenue and Morton Shulman Avenue. Construction also began on a new Humber River Regional Hospital , which would replace two nearby hospitals (Church and Keele). The hospital was scheduled to open in October 2015. Other provincial offices will be built on
747-643: A second study estimates that over 500,000 vehicles travel that section on some days. This makes it North America's busiest roadway, surpassing the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles and I-75 in Atlanta. The just-in-time auto parts delivery systems of the highly integrated automotive industry of Michigan and Ontario have contributed to the highway's status as the world's busiest truck route, carrying 60 percent of vehicular trade between Canada and
830-424: A select few interchanges. Access between the two is provided by transfers , which are strategically placed to prevent disruptions caused by closely spaced interchanges. To avoid confusion between carriageways, blue signs are used for the collector lanes and green signs for the express lanes. The overall purpose of the collector-express system is to maximize traffic flow for both local and long-distance traffic. From
913-661: A six-lane cross-section. Within London, it intersects the city's two municipal expressways , Highbury Avenue and the Veterans Memorial Parkway . The section between London and Woodstock generally parallels the former Highway 2 but lies on the south side of the Thames River. This area is not as flat but the highway is generally straight. This part of Highway 401 often experiences heavy snowsqualls in early winter, sometimes extending as far east as Toronto. To
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#1733084875551996-628: A six-lane freeway in Brighton Beach (at the Canada–US border in Windsor) at the west end of the E. C. Row Expressway, sandwiched between the E. C. Row's opposing carriageways for a short distance. Highway 401 then changes to a southeast direction as it descends into a trench and runs alongside Highway 3 (Huron Church Road and Talbot Road). This below-grade section of the highway has 11 tunnels to cross underneath surface streets (including those carrying
1079-480: A survey of 375,000 drivers, asking them about their preferred route to travel to their destination. Using this information, a course was plotted from Windsor to Quebec, bypassing all towns along the way. Highway 2S (S for Scenic ) was the first completed section of new roadway. Built to connect with the Thousand Islands Bridge at Ivy Lea and opened as a gravel road in late 1941 or early 1942,
1162-444: Is a traffic bottleneck, since the space constraints of the existing flyovers of the at the 401-427 interchange also limit the width of the 401 in this section to eight lanes (widened from the original six). Highway 401 is often congested in this section, with an average of 442,900 vehicles passing between Weston Road and Highway 400 per day as of 2008 (just east of the 401-409 merger). In spite of this congestion, it
1245-571: Is flat, primarily agricultural land, that takes advantage of the fertile clay soil deposited throughout the region. The main river through the region is the Thames River , which drains the second largest watershed in southern Ontario and largely influences the land use surrounding the highway. It parallels the route to the north between Tilbury and Woodstock. Near Tilbury, Highway 401 loses its tall wall median barrier and narrows to four lanes, following lot lines laid between concession roads in
1328-491: Is the primary commuting route in Toronto, and over 50 percent of vehicles bound for downtown Toronto use the highway. East of Highway 400 is a set of transfer ramps between the express and collectors lanes nicknamed "The Basketweave", as each direction has a pair of ramps that cross over and under each other. Near Yorkdale Shopping Centre, twelve lanes pass beneath a complicated interchange with Allen Road . Further east,
1411-730: Is the principal connection between Toronto and Montreal , becoming Autoroute 20 at the Ontario–Quebec border. Highway 401 does not yet extend across the Detroit River into Detroit. By September 2025, the Gordie Howe International Bridge will extend Highway 401 across the Canada–United States border to a connection through Delray to Interstate 75 in Michigan . At present, Highway 401 begins as
1494-508: Is the western side of Toronto's Greenbelt , a zone around Toronto protected from development. After this 10 km (6.2 mi) gap, the highway interchanges with the Highway ;407 Express Toll Route . Within the GTA, the highway passes several major shopping malls including Toronto Premium Outlets , Yorkdale Shopping Centre , Scarborough Town Centre and Pickering Town Centre . Within
1577-609: The London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian Confederation . Only eleven people attended all three conferences. The following table lists the participants in the Charlottetown, Quebec, and London Conferences and their attendance at each stage. Four other individuals have been labelled as Fathers of Confederation. Hewitt Bernard , who was the recording secretary at the Charlottetown Conference,
1660-625: The Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one , is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario . It stretches 828 kilometres (514 mi) from Windsor in the west to the Ontario– Quebec border in the east. The part of Highway 401 that passes through Toronto is North America's busiest highway, and one of the widest. Together with Quebec Autoroute 20 , it forms
1743-576: The Minister of Tourism and Information , joined local residents to persuade the DHO to construct an inland bypass. The DHO agreed, stating that it would cost less to build a new freeway than to upgrade the parkway. Construction of the Thousand Islands Bypass began in 1965, with work proceeding east from Gananoque. The Thousand Islands Parkway was the final two-lane segment of Highway 401. A portion
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#17330848755511826-673: The St. Lawrence River to Gananoque , where it splits with the Thousand Islands Parkway , one of the original sections of the highway designated in 1952. The highway runs parallel to the parkway several kilometres inland from the river. The Canadian Shield , an ancient geological formation, appears through this heavily forested section of the highway. Highway 401 rejoins the Thousand Islands Parkway immediately southwest of Brockville , now heading northeast. The remainder of
1909-602: The Trent Canal and returns to an agricultural setting. It then crosses the Moira River as it goes through Belleville before heading eastward to Kingston . The Kingston portion of the highway, originally named the Kingston-Bypass , was one of the first sections of the highway to be completed; it is now mostly three lanes each way. East of Kingston , the highway continues through a predominantly agricultural area alongside
1992-468: The 14-lane cross-section to 10, divided only at the centre. It remains this width as it passes into Ajax , before narrowing to six lanes at Salem Road. Planned expansions east of Salem to improve flow leading into the Highway 412 and Lakeridge Road interchanges will see the highway widened to ten lanes as far as Brock Street in Whitby, where the existing interchange will be reconfigured. East of Ajax,
2075-513: The 44 km (27 mi) stretch between Colborne and Belleville , the 66 km (41 mi) stretch between Belleville and Kingston , and the 107 km (66 mi) stretch between Highway 16 and the east end of the highway that were raised on July 12, 2024. By the end of 1952, three individual highways were numbered "Highway 401": the partially completed Toronto Bypass between Weston Road and Highway 11 (Yonge Street); Highway 2A between West Hill and Newcastle ; and
2158-586: The Department of Highways began construction on a new bridge over the large valley, bypassing the former alignment around West Hill . From here the highway was constructed on a new alignment to Oshawa, avoiding construction on the congested Highway 2. As grading and bridge construction neared completion on the new highway between West Hill and Oshawa in September 1939, World War II broke out and gradually tax revenues were re-allocated from highway construction to
2241-527: The GTA, three separate segments of Highway 401 employ a collector-express system , a concept inspired by the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago. The system divides each direction of travel into segregated collector and express lanes, giving the highway a wide span and four carriageways . Unlike the collector lanes, which provide access to every interchange, the express lanes only provide direct access to
2324-497: The Highway 3 routing). After passing under Howard Avenue and the ramps to Talbot Road, the highway then curves northeast and ascends back to the surface. At the split with Dougall Parkway (former Highway 3B) which links to the Detroit–Windsor tunnel , the highway turns east and exits Windsor. From here, Highway 401 mostly parallels the former route of Highway 98 from Windsor to Tilbury. Southwestern Ontario
2407-458: The Highway 410 interchange was a better connection point than the original suggested terminus at the Highway 401-427 interchange, but would also require the widening of Highway 401 from six lanes to twelve. Plans were submitted and approved in December 1977 by Mississauga city council, and construction began. The first section of Highway 403 between Cawthra Road and Highway 401
2490-522: The Kennedy Road overpass was replaced, cast-in-place concrete flyover ramps were constructed from 1988 to late 1990 to link up Highway 401 and Highway 410, notably the 11-span flyover ramp from Highway 401 eastbound to Highway 410 northbound which remains the longest in the Greater Toronto Area, while the Highway 410 southbound to Highway 401 eastbound flyover replaced
2573-659: The MTO announced long-term plans to create high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes from Mississauga Road west to Milton; by 2011 these plans had been expanded in scope to as far west as Hespeler Road in Cambridge. Fathers of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and
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2656-554: The Scenic Highway between Gananoque and Brockville , now known as the Thousand Islands Parkway . These three sections of highway were 11.8, 54.7, and 41.2 km (7.3, 34.0, and 25.6 mi), respectively. In 1964, the route became fully navigable from Windsor to the Ontario–Quebec border. In 1965 it was given a second designation, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway, in honour of two Fathers of Confederation . At
2739-562: The US. Highway 401 also features North America's busiest multi-structure bridge at Hogg's Hollow in Toronto. The four bridges, two for each direction with the collector and express lanes, carried an average of 360,300 vehicles daily in 2019. The highway is one of the major backbones of a network in the Great Lakes region , connecting the populous Quebec City –Windsor corridor with Michigan, New York and central Ontario's cottage country . It
2822-480: The centennial celebrations. The remainder of the bypass was opened to traffic on October 11, 1968 Finally, on October 11, 1968, the Thousand Islands Bypass opened. This final piece was commemorated with a plaque to signify the completion of Highway 401. In Toronto, engineers and surveyors were examining the four-lane bypass, while planners set about designing a way to handle the commuter highway. In 1963, transportation minister Charles MacNaughton announced
2905-454: The coroner's office. Highway 401 previously ended at Highway 3 (Talbot Road) upon entering Windsor. In 2011, construction began on a westward extension called the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway (formerly Windsor-Essex Parkway ). This extension runs parallel to Highway 3 (Talbot Road and Huron Church Road) between the former end of the freeway and the E. C. Row Expressway , at which point
2988-483: The course of a new dual highway mostly parallel to Highway 2, with precedence given to areas most hampered by congestion. Unlike the QEW, this highway would not be built along an existing road, but rather on a new right-of-way, avoiding the need to provide access to properties. Along with immense improvements to machinery and construction techniques over its six-year course, the war provided planners an opportunity to conduct
3071-513: The early 1990s. It was extended westward in stages during the 2010s to include the interchanges with Hurontario Street, Mavis Road, and Mississauga Road; with the final extension to Winston Churchill being completed in 2022. The east end of this section, running south of Toronto Pearson International Airport , reaches the Highway's widest point, at 18 lanes. Approaching the City of Toronto's western border,
3154-459: The eastern section through Scarborough, that it "winds smoothly through pastures across streams and rivers, and beside green thickets. It seems a long way from the big city." By 1959 however, the bypass was a lineup of cars, as 85,000 drivers crowded the roadway, designed to handle a maximum of 48,000 vehicles, on a daily basis. Motorists found the new road to be a convenient way of travelling across Toronto; this convenience helped influence
3237-454: The eastern system from Neilson Road to Brock Road in Pickering in the late 1980s, but took over a decade to reach fruition by 1997. This was followed shortly thereafter by the widening of the highway through Ajax and a new interchange at Pickering Beach Road (renamed Salem Road) and Stevenson Road. The 1990s also saw the first step in widening the highway from Toronto to London, by replacing
3320-562: The end of 1960, the Toronto section of the highway was extended both eastwards and westwards: first east from Newcastle to Port Hope on June 30; then later west from Highway 25 in Milton to Highway 8 south of Kitchener on November 17. By mid-1961, the section between Brighton and Marysville had opened. The gap to the east, from Highway 28 in Port Hope to Highway 30 in Brighton
3403-539: The end of 1968, the Gananoque–Brockville section was bypassed and the final intersection grade-separated near Kingston, making Highway 401 a freeway for its entire 817.9 km (508.2 mi) length. Since 2007, a portion of the highway between Trenton and Toronto has been designated the Highway of Heroes , as the route is travelled by funeral convoys for fallen Canadian Forces personnel from CFB Trenton to
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3486-491: The entire length of Highway 401. Signs designating the freeway and shields with the letters 'M-C' were installed, but these had been removed by 1997. In 2003, 38 years after Robarts' naming of the highway, a Member of Provincial Parliament attempted to get the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway highway name enshrined into law; the bill only passed first reading and was not enacted. In the 1970s, Highway 401
3569-460: The extension turns and runs alongside the E.C. Row towards the future Gordie Howe International Bridge . An 8-kilometre (5.0 mi) section of the parkway, east of the E. C. Row interchange, opened on June 28, 2015, with the remaining section completed and opened on November 21. The widening of the highway between Highway/Regional Road 8 in Kitchener to Townline Road in Cambridge to at least ten lanes
3652-408: The future expansion of the highway, the transportation ministry purchased a 91.4-metre-wide (300 ft) right-of-way along the entire length. Generally, the highway occupies only a portion of this allotment. It is one of the world's busiest highways; a 2019 analysis stated the annual average daily traffic (AADT) count between Renforth Drive and Highway 427 in Toronto was at 450,300, while
3735-595: The grass median with the addition of a third traffic lane per direction separated by a tall-wall concrete median barrier. The segment from London to Woodstock received this upgrade first, with the expansion shortly east of the split for Highway 403's newly constructed western segment. A project in the mid-1990s brought the highway up to a minimum of six lanes between Highway 8 in Kitchener and Highway 35 / 115 in Newcastle. Other projects prepared sections for eventual widening. In its 2007 plan for southern Ontario,
3818-456: The highway ascends as it crosses the Grand River followed by interchanges with King Street (Waterloo Regional Road 8) and Highway 8 before returning to its eastward orientation. Between Highway/Regional Road 8 and Highway/Regional Road 24 in Cambridge, the highway was widened in 2020 to twelve lanes to accommodate the growing traffic using that segment. Beyond Highway/Regional Road 24,
3901-550: The highway could be completed, Thomas McQuesten was appointed the new minister of the Department of Highways, with Robert Melville Smith as deputy minister, following the 1934 provincial elections . Smith, inspired by the German autobahns —new "dual-lane divided highways "—modified the design for Ontario roads, and McQuesten ordered the Middle Road be converted into this new form of highway. A 40 m (130 ft) right-of-way
3984-709: The highway crosses Hogg's Hollow over the West Don River on what is the busiest multi-span bridge crossing in North America, followed immediately by an interchange with Yonge Street which is also the centre of Toronto. Eastward the highway descends as it crosses Oriole GO Station , Leslie Street, and the East Don River in succession. It then climbs toward an interchange with the Don Valley Parkway and Highway 404 , which provides access to downtown Toronto and
4067-556: The highway except at infrequent controlled-access points. It was announced in the days thereafter this concept would be applied to a new "trans-provincial expressway", running from Windsor to the Ontario–Quebec border. Highway engineers evaluated factors such as grading, curve radius, and the narrow median used along the Middle Road—which was inaugurated on August 23, 1940, as the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) —and began to plan
4150-460: The highway passes through the second 3.5 km (2.2 mi) rural gap, and enters Whitby . The stretch of Highway 401 through Whitby and Oshawa features several structures completed during the initial construction of the highway in the 1940s. Several of these structures are to be demolished, either due to their age, or to prepare for the planned widening of Highway 401 through this area. A former Canadian National Railway overpass, which
4233-543: The highway returns to a six-lane cross section and meanders towards Milton , passing through hills and rock cuts along the way. As Highway 401 approaches the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) from the west, it rounds Rattlesnake Point (part of the ecologically protected Niagara Escarpment ) to the west of Milton. Upon entering the town, it enters the first urbanized section of the GTA, passing through two rural areas between there and Oshawa. Part of this rural gap
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#17330848755514316-497: The highway runs parallel to the former Highway 2 along the shore of the St. Lawrence River within the St. Lawrence Valley . Northeast of Brockville is the interchange with Highway 416, which heads north to Ottawa . At the Ontario–Quebec border, Highway 401 becomes Autoroute 20 and continues to Montreal. The MTO publishes yearly traffic volume data for provincial highways, expressed as an average daily vehicle count over
4399-518: The highway was opened between Weston and Highway 27 in September 1955. The entire bypass, including the widening of Highway 27 into an expressway south of Highway 401, was completed in August 1956. Upon its opening, the bypass was described by one reporter as "a motorist's dream" providing "some of the most soothing scenery in the Metropolitan area". The reporter continued, with regard to
4482-480: The large reconstruction project, which included complex new interchanges at Highway 27, Highway 400, the planned Spadina Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway. The system was completed in 1972, along with the Highway 27 (renamed Highway 427) bypass between the QEW and Pearson Airport. Most of the interchanges in Toronto were reconstructed as partial cloverleafs and a continuous lighting system
4565-517: The most direct path from Detroit to Buffalo. By 1956, construction had begun on a segment between Highway 4 in London and Highway 2 in Woodstock, as well as on the section between Windsor and Tilbury. In 1958, a section bypassing Morrisburg was opened to accommodate traffic displaced from a portion of Highway 2 through The Lost Villages of the Saint Lawrence Seaway . By
4648-440: The other two were not completed until July 31, 1964. The last segment, to the Ontario–Quebec border, was opened on November 10, 1964. As originally envisioned by McQuesten, Highway 401 had been routed along the Thousand Islands Parkway since 1952. However, by then numerous properties and a tourist industry were established, which had not been present when the parkway originally opened in 1938. James Auld , MPP for Leeds and
4731-497: The province to the municipality in 1998) merges into it, followed immediately by an interchange with Kingston Road and Port Union Road/ Sheppard Avenue , then crossing the Rouge Valley into Pickering. West of Pickering, Highway 401 again meets former Highway 2, which thereafter parallels it to the Ontario–Quebec border. As the highway approaches Brock Road in Pickering, the collector and express lanes converge, narrowing
4814-471: The remaining exceptions being the posted 80 km/h (50 mph) limit westbound in Windsor, in most construction zones, and the 110 km/h (68 mph) speed limit on the 40 km (25 mi) stretch between Windsor and Tilbury that was raised on April 22, 2022, the 7 km (4.3 mi) extension east of the aforementioned, the 35 km (22 mi) stretch between Highway 35 / 115 and Cobourg ,
4897-607: The road followed the shore of the Saint Lawrence River and connected with the western end of the twinned Highway 2 near Brockville. In addition, the highway between Highland Creek and Oshawa was opened as a gravel-surfaced road in May 1942. Following the war, construction resumed on roadways throughout Ontario. The expressway between Highland Creek and Oshawa was completed in December 1947 and designated as Highway 2A, while other sections languished. The Toronto–Barrie Highway
4980-550: The road transportation backbone of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor , along which over half of Canada's population resides. It is also a Core Route in the National Highway System of Canada. The route is maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) and patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police . The speed limit is 100 km/h (62 mph) throughout the majority of its length, with
5063-730: The same day Highway 400 was numbered), the Highland Creek to Oshawa expressway (Highway 2A) and Highway 2S were designated Controlled-Access Highway No 401 , a move scorned by one critic because of the lack of thought given to the numbered name. Construction was completed for several sections of the Toronto Bypass: between Highway 400 and Dufferin Street in August, west to Weston Road in September, east to Bathurst Street in October and finally to Yonge Street in December. A 3.4 km (2.1 mi) stub of Highway 2A which
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#17330848755515146-560: The single carriageway of Highway 401 curves northeast and follows a power transmission corridor to the east end of Highway 409 where the highways merge and the 401 returns to its east–west route through Toronto. This is also the west end of the third and longest express-collector segment (43.7 km (27.2 mi)) which crosses the rest of the city to Brock Road in Pickering in the east. The 5 km (3.1 mi) gap with no express/collector split between Highways 427 and 409
5229-449: The site. Many of the older Ministry of Transportation buildings located there will be demolished. The OPP detachment will remain on the site. New roads will be built to provide easier access: 43°43′22″N 79°29′11″W / 43.72280°N 79.48637°W / 43.72280; -79.48637 Ontario Highway 401 King's Highway 401 , commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as
5312-536: The south of Woodstock, Highway 401 curves northeast as Highway 403 splits off. The freeway then meets the former Highway 2 at an interchange, reconfigured from a cloverleaf to a five-ramp parclo in the late 2000s, near the Toyota West Plant . From here the highway heads towards Kitchener and Cambridge , substantially north of the route of the former Highway 2 which has been bypassed by Highway 403's western leg. Heading towards Kitchener,
5395-460: The span of a year (AADT). The table below compares the AADT at several locations along Highway 401 using data from 1969, 1988, 2008 and 2016. Highway 401's history predates its designation by over two decades. As automobile use in southern Ontario grew in the early 20th century, road design and construction advanced significantly. Following frequent erosion of Lake Shore Road, then macadamized ,
5478-420: The start of Highway 401's westbound collectors lanes in this section. This system was originally designed to accommodate and organize various traffic movements from the Highway 403 / 410 and Highway 427 interchanges along Highway 401, replacing an earlier plan that would have run Highway 403 directly to Eglinton Avenue and the never-built Richview Expressway . East of Highway 427,
5561-705: The suburban shift in the city and continues to be a driving force of urban sprawl today. Meanwhile, beyond Toronto, the highway was being built in a patchwork fashion, focusing on congested areas first. Construction west from Highway 27 began in late 1954, as did the Kingston Bypass in Eastern Ontario. Work began to connect the latter with the Scenic Highway in 1955. After the 1954 New York State Thruway opened from Buffalo to New York City , Michigan officials encouraged Ontario to bypass Highway 3 as
5644-510: The suburbs to the north, respectively. Between Birchmount Road and Midland Avenue, the freeway is elevated on a berm as it crosses three surface streets and two railway lines. Progressing eastward in Scarborough, the Highway 401 continues through mostly residential areas and Scarborough City Centre including the shopping mall . The highway eventually reaching the city's eastern edge where at Meadowvale Road it turns southeast briefly before it swings northeast as Highway 2A (downloaded from
5727-458: The two, was not considered since Lake Shore and Dundas were both overcrowded and in need of serious repairs. The road was formally opened on November 24, 1917, 5.5 m (18 ft) wide and nearly 64 km (40 mi) long. It was the first concrete road in Ontario, as well as one of the longest stretches of concrete road between two cities in the world. Over the next decade, vehicle usage increased substantially, and by 1920, Lakeshore Road
5810-464: The war effort. At the same time, between September 6 and 8, 1939, the Ontario Good Roads Association Conference was held at Bigwin Inn, near Huntsville , drawing highway engineers from across North America to discuss the new concept of "Dual Highways". On the first day of the convention, McQuesten announced his vision of the freeway: an uninterrupted drive through the scenic regions of Ontario, discouraging local business and local traffic from accessing
5893-427: The west, the first collector-express section through the GTA is 4.6 km (2.9 mi) long and runs from James Snow Parkway to Highway 407 . Beyond Highway 407, the freeway briefly narrows to 10 lanes east to Winston Churchill Boulevard , where the second section begins and runs 16.7 km (10.4 mi) to Highway 427 . The west end of this section initially terminated just west of Highway 410 in
5976-499: The widening of Highway 401 in Toronto from four to a minimum of 12 lanes between Islington Avenue and Markham Road . The design was taken from the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago, which was widened into a similar configuration around the same time. Construction began immediately. While the plan initially called for construction to end in 1967, it continued for nearly a decade. At least four lanes were always open during
6059-481: Was again congested, particularly during weekends. In response, the Department of Highways examined improving another road between Toronto and Hamilton. The road was to be more than twice the width of Lakeshore Road at 12 m (39 ft) and would carry two lanes of traffic in either direction. Construction on what was then known as the Queen Street Extension west of Toronto began in early 1931. Before
6142-504: Was completed by December 22, 2023. There are plans underway to widen the remaining four-lane sections between Windsor and London to six lanes and to widen the route between Cambridge and Milton as well as through Oshawa . The expansive twelve-plus-lane collector–express system through Toronto and Pickering , and partially across Mississauga , was extended west to Milton in December 2022. Highway 401 extends across Southwestern , Central and Eastern Ontario . In anticipation of
6225-588: Was fenced off but commonly used by pedestrians during Highway of Heroes repatriations, was demolished on the night of June 11, 2011. A second structure in Bowmanville was demolished during two overnight closures on July 9 and 16. At Harmony Road, the suburban surroundings quickly transition to agricultural land. The highway curves around the south side of Bowmanville and travels towards Highway 35 and Highway 115 . From east of Highway 35 and Highway 115 to Cobourg , Highway 401 passes through
6308-451: Was installed. On January 11, 1965, at the dinner celebration of Sir John A. Macdonald 's 150th birthday, the Premier of Ontario John Robarts designated Highway 401 the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway to honour Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier , two of Canada's Fathers of Confederation . Unlike other names later applied to the highway, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway designation covers
6391-531: Was not incorporated into Highway 401 remained a provincial route as a connector to Kingston Road . Extensions east and west began in 1953; the eastern extension to Bayview Avenue opened in April 1955, but the western extension was delayed by the damage caused by Hurricane Hazel on October 15, 1954, which nearly destroyed the new bridge over the Humber River . The reconstruction would take until July 8, 1955, and
6474-475: Was opened August 18, 1980; the original connecting ramps were built on the outer perimeter of the interchange to serve what would later be designated as the collector lanes of both routes, leaving sufficient right-of-way between for future ramps linking the express lanes of both routes. The 1980s saw more sections of Highway 401 widened. Most significant was the new collector-express system between Highway 403 / 410 and Highway 427, including
6557-474: Was opened on July 20 of that year. The gap between Woodstock and Kitchener was completed on November 9, 1961, while the gap between Tilbury and London was completed two lanes at a time; the westbound lanes on October 22, 1963, the eastbound on July 20, 1965. The gap between Marysville and Kingston was opened by 1962. The final sections, from west of Cornwall to Lancaster, were opened between 1962 and 1964; two lanes opened to Lancaster on September 11, 1962, but
6640-536: Was opened on September 1, 1967, from Gananoque to Highway 137, which was itself built south to the parkway at the same time. The Highway 401 designation was applied along this new route, while the bypassed portion of the parkway was redesignated as Highway 2S. Despite the expected influx of traffic from the United States for Expo 67 in Montreal, the DHO opted to build the portion east of Ivy Lea after
6723-597: Was purchased along the Middle Road and construction began to convert the existing sections to a divided highway. Work also began on Canada's first interchange at Highway 10. Beginning in 1935, McQuesten applied the concept of a dual-highway to several projects along Highway 2, including along Kingston Road in Scarborough Township. When widening in Scarborough reached the Highland Creek ravine in 1936,
6806-610: Was the primary focus of the Department of Highways at the time, and the onset of the Korean War in 1950 stalled construction again. Despite the delays, highway minister George Doucett officially announced the plans for construction of the new trans-provincial expressway that year, with the Toronto to Oshawa expressway serving as a model for the design. Work on the most important link, the Toronto Bypass , began in 1951, but it would not open with that name. In July 1952 (possibly July 1,
6889-599: Was widened to six lanes in Durham. Between 1977 and 1982, Highway 401 was widened from four to six lanes between Hurontario Street (Highway 10) to Highway 25, with the Jersey median barrier making its debut in Ontario in that segment. Plans had been completely modified to connect the under-construction Mississauga leg of Highway 403 from QEW to Highway 401 at the new Highway 410 interchange. For Highway 403,
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