Ontario Highway 401
- This article is about the Highway 401 freeway in Southern Ontario. For other uses, see Highway 401 (disambiguation)
Highway 401 (also known as the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway) is a freeway that extends across Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the longest 400-Series Highway in Ontario and one of the busiest highways in the world. Together with Quebec Autoroute 20, it is the road transportation backbone of the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor along which over half of Canada's population lives.
Highway 401 is also widely recognized as one of the fastest highways in North America. Despite a speed limit from end to end of just 100 km/h (62 mph) and strict police enforcement, the flow of traffic often moves at upwards of 140 km/h (85 mph).
In 1965, Ontario Premier John Robarts designated Highway 401 the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, in honour of Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier, the Province of Canada's most important Fathers of Confederation. This name is found on maps and official documents, but seldom used in conversation or on road signs.
Overview
Highway 401 begins at Highway 3, 13 km from the Detroit River on the outskirts of Windsor (not at the Michigan border as some mistakenly assume) and ends at the Quebec border, 815 km (506 mi.) away. There are 18 service station oases located along the route, allowing motorists to access services without leaving the highway. A plaque was erected at the Ivy Lea oasis, where the freeway was completed, stating that the 401 is the longest non-toll freeway under a single highway authority in North America. (The Texas section of Interstate 10 holds this record today.)
Cities along the route of the highway include Windsor, Chatham, London, Woodstock, Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph, Milton, Mississauga, Toronto, Oshawa, Cobourg, Trenton, Belleville, Kingston, Brockville, and Cornwall.
Major freeway junctions are located at Highway 402, Highbury Avenue in London, Highway 403, Highway 8, Highway 6, Highway 407, Highway 410, Highway 427, Highway 400, William R. Allen Road and the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto, Highway 404, Highway 35/115, and Highway 416; Quebec Autoroute 20 continues the highway at its eastern end. There are no direct interchanges with U.S. Interstate highways, but Interstates 75 and 375 in Detroit, Michigan, and Interstate 81 in New York State, are each a few miles away, via Ontario highways 3, the former 3B, and 137, leading respectively to the Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, and the Thousand Islands Bridge.
Transportation corridor
The 401 is widely considered to be North America's busiest highway, with an estimated Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) of over 425,000 in 2004, near the interchange with Highway 400. This surpasses the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles, and several Interstate freeways in Houston, Texas. Due to its triple use as the main trade, commuting and recreational corridor in Ontario, the AADT rises to well beyond the 500,000 level on some days. The just-in-time inventory systems of the highly integrated auto industry in Michigan and Ontario have made the highway the busiest truck route in North America. The 401 also includes the continent's busiest multi-structure bridge at Hogg's Hollow in Toronto (four structures for the highway's four roadway beds).
The 401 is one of the most important highways in Canada, as it connects the populous Southern Ontario region with Quebec and Michigan, while also connecting to most other major highways in the province. The highway also serves as the principal connection to Montreal and points east, including New England, becoming Autoroute 20 at the Quebec border. The border crossing at Windsor and Detroit is the busiest trade crossing in the world, and although the 401 itself does not physically extend the last few kilometres into Detroit, it is the only route from Toronto to Windsor and on to Interstate 75. A future expansion of the Windsor-Detroit border crossing, which will include a freeway bypass of the existing Highway 3, may result in Highway 401 having a direct freeway link to the border. Some 40 percent of Canada-US trade travels the highway, which is one-third of Canada's foreign trade, and 4 percent of all US foreign trade.
Collector-express setup
The section that now runs through Toronto was a rural roadway that was entirely outside of the Toronto city limits when first opened, and was originally referred to as the Toronto Bypass. As the city's suburbs grew, it quickly became an urban commuter road, rather than a long-distance bypass route as was originally planned, leading to extensive traffic jams. This problem was solved to some extent by implementing separate express and collector lanes, similar to the express/local set-up of the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago. By 1967 Highway 401 was widened from four lanes to 12 or more through Toronto and Mississauga. An alternative plan to the collector-express setup was to construct a bypass of Highway 401. This project was revived in 1987 and completed as toll road Highway 407 ETR to parallel Highway 401 in the Greater Toronto Area.
Today the stretch of Highway 401 that passes through the Greater Toronto Area ranges from 6 to 18 lanes, and the stretch between Highway 403 and Brock Road in Pickering is thought to be the world's longest continuous stretch of highway having 10 or more lanes. The main collector-express setup with a minimum 12 lane cross-section stretches from Islington Avenue to Brock Road. Highway 409 which branches off from Highway 401 just west of Islington to Toronto Pearson International Airport has been unsuccessful in diverting traffic volumes; the "gap" between Islington and Highway 427 is widely considered to be the worst major bottleneck on Highway 401 and this problem is unlikely to be fixed unless the existing 401-427 interchange is reconstructed to allow 5-6 lanes of through traffic per direction (currently, it only allows 4 lanes per direction).
Highway 401 has a separate collector-express system between the junctions with Highways 403/410 and Highway 427. This was completed in 1986, concurrent with the expansion of the 401-403 interchange and the addition of two express flyover ramps and includes an eastbound collector-express transfer known as the "Tunnel". At 18 lanes wide this is the widest section of Highway 401, although at the present only the 6-8 express lanes are for 401 through traffic while the collector lanes serve as direct connections or ramp extensions from 403/410 to 427. The existing 401/427 interchange remains a bottleneck to possible east expansion of this configuration that would link it up with the Islington-Brock collector-express system. Another bottleneck at the 403/410 interchange since the 401 narrows down to 6 lanes west of that junction. However, several prerequisite projects to extend the collector system westward from 403/410 to Missisauga Road were underway in the late 1990s, including a new interchange at Mavis Road and the reconstruction of the Missisauga Road and Derry Road overpasses. A long term plan is to extend the 12-lane express/collector system as far west as Guelph and Kitchener.
Future expansion and upgrades
A plan is currently underway by the Ministry of Transportation to widen the highway to at least six lanes for its length from Windsor to the Quebec border. In the 1950s, Highway 401 had initially been constructed as a 4 lane divided highway but the narrow grass median has since proven insufficient in preventing cross-directional collisions. In 1999, the Windsor-London stretch of Highway 401 was infamously known as "Carnage Alley" after a slew of fatal accidents, including an 87 vehicle pileup on Labour Day during thick fog. Much of the upgrade work will involve replacing the median with an "Ontario tall-wall" concrete barrier and an extra lane per direction.
On November 14, 2005, the joint Canadian-American committee studying the options for expanding the Windsor - Detroit border crossing announced that its preferred option was to directly extend Highway 401 westward, using a new bridge or tunnel to cross the Detroit River and interchange with Interstate 75 somewhere between the existing Ambassador Bridge span and Wyandotte. The exact route of this new highway connection has not yet been determined. [1]
To manage traffic, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) installed the COMPASS Freeway Traffic Management System, the most advanced of its kind in the world when it was deployed in 1991. Using a combination of CCTV cameras, vehicle detection loops and LED changeable message signs, the MTO Traffic Operations Centre can obtain a real-time assessment of traffic conditions and alert highway travellers of collisions and construction. The system currently stretches from Highway 403, Mississauga to Brock Road, Pickering, and is likely to be extended westward and eastward as Highway 401 is reconstructed and upgraded.
The Ontario government is also planning to widen the Missisauga stretch from 6 lanes to 12 lanes from the 403-410 interchange to the Credit River, and 10 lanes to Mississauga Road. The Derry Road underpass and Mississauga Road overpass have been widened to accommodate this, while a new interchange has been added with Mavis Road. The main obstacle to widening are the aging Creditview Road, McLaughlin Road, and Hurontario Street overpasses which will be demolished and replaced as part of the reconstruction.
Volume information (2002)
- Highest Volume: 414,100 AADT from Weston Road (Exit 357) to Highway 400 (Exit 359)
- Lowest Volume: 15,300 AADT from Highway 3 to Dougall Parkway (Exit 13)
Interchanges from west to east
There are over 150 interchanges on Highway 401 between Windsor and Quebec Autoroute 20 at the Ontario/Quebec border. The reconstruction of Highway 401 in Missisauga is expected to add several interchanges in order to serve that fast-growing region. Another widening project throughout Oshawa would see old interchanges closed in favour of newer ones, although the only possible extension of Highway 401 would be northwestward from Windsor to connect directly into Michigan.
| Municipality | Exit Number | Intersecting Roads |
|---|---|---|
| Windsor - Tecumseh Boundary | 11* | Huron Church Road (Highway 3, to Interstate 75 via Ambassador Bridge) |
| Windsor - Tecumseh Boundary | 13 | Dougall Parkway (to Interstate 375 via Detroit-Windsor Tunnel) |
| Tecumseh | 14 | Provincial Road (Essex County Road 46) |
| Tecumseh - Lakeshore Boundary | 21 | Manning Road (Essex County Road 19) |
| Lakeshore | 28 | Puce Road (Essex County Road 25) |
| Lakeshore | 34 | Belle River Road (Essex County Road 27) |
| Lakeshore | 40 | St. Joachim Road (Essex County Road 31) |
| Lakeshore | 48 | Highway 77/Comber Road (Essex County Road 35) |
| Lakeshore | 56 | Essex County Road 42 |
| Chatham-Kent | 63 | Queen's Line (Chatham-Kent Road 2) |
| Chatham-Kent | 81 | Bloomfield Road (Chatham-Kent Road 27) |
| Chatham-Kent | 90 | Communication Road (Highway 40 and Chatham-Kent Road 11) |
| Chatham-Kent | 101 | Kent Bridge Road (Chatham-Kent Road 15) |
| Chatham-Kent | 109 | Chatham-Kent Roads 17 and 21 |
| Chatham-Kent | 117 | Orford Road (Chatham-Kent Road 20) |
| West Elgin | 129 | Furnival Road (Elgin County Road 103) |
| West Elgin | 137 | Graham Road (Elgin County Road 76) |
| Dutton-Dunwich | 149 | Currie Road (Elgin County Road 8) |
| Dutton-Dunwich - Southwold Boundary | 157 | Iona Road (Elgin County Road 14) |
| Southwold | 164 | Union Road (Elgin County Road 20) |
| London | 177 | Colonel Talbot Road (Highway 4) |
| London | 183 | Highway 402 (westbound only) |
| London | 186 | Wellington Road |
| London | 189 | Highbury Avenue |
| London | 194 | Airport Road (London) |
| Thames Centre | 195 | Middlesex County Road 74 |
| Thames Centre | 199 | Dorchester Road (Middlesex County Road 32) |
| Thames Centre | 203 | Middlesex County Road 73 |
| Thames Centre | 208 | Putnam Road (Middlesex County Road 30) |
| South-West Oxford | 216 | Culloden Road (Oxford County Road 10) |
| South-west Oxford | 218 | Plank Line (Highway 19, Oxford County Road 119) |
| South-west Oxford | 222 | Foldens Line (Oxford County Road 6) |
| South-west Oxford - Woodstock Boundary | 230 | Mill Street (Oxford County Road 12) |
| Woodstock | 232 | Norwich Avenue (Oxford County Road 59) |
| Norwich | 235 | Highway 403 (eastbound only) |
| Norwich | 236 | Towerline Road (Oxford County Road 15) |
| Norwich | 238 | Oxford County Road 2 (Dundas Street) |
| Blandford-Blenheim | 250 | Drumbo Road (Oxford County Road 29) |
| North Dumfries | 268 | Cedar Creek Road (Waterloo Road 97) |
| Cambridge - Kitchener Boundary | 275 | Homer Watson Boulevard/Fountain Street (Waterloo Road 28) |
| Cambridge - Kitchener Boundary | 278 | Highway 8/King Street (Waterloo Road 8) |
| Cambridge | 282 | Hespeler Road (Waterloo Road 24)/Highway 24 |
| Cambridge | 284 | Franklin Boulevard (Waterloo Road 36) (eastbound only) |
| Cambridge - Puslinch Boundary | 286 | Townline Road |
| Puslinch | 295 | Highway 6 North |
| Puslinch | 299 | Highway 6 South and Brock Road (Wellington County Road 46) Photo |
| Milton | 312 | Guelph Line (Halton Road 1) Photo |
| Milton | 320 | Halton Road 25 Photo |
| Milton | 324 | James Snow Parkway (Halton Road 4) Photo |
| Milton - Halton Hills Boundary | 328 | Trafalgar Road (Halton Road 3) Photo |
| Milton - Halton Hills - Mississauga Corner Boundary | 330 | Highway 407 Photo |
| Mississauga | 333 | Winston Churchill Boulevard (Peel Road 19) Photo |
| Mississauga | 336 | Mississauga Road/Erin Mills Parkway (Peel Road 1) Photo |
| Mississauga | 340 | Mavis Road Photo |
| Mississauga | 342 | Hurontario Street Photo |
| Mississauga | 344 | Highway 403 (westbound only)/Highway 410 Photo |
| Mississauga | 346 | Dixie Road (Peel Road 4) Photo |
| Mississauga - Toronto Boundary | 348 | Renforth Drive Photo |
| Toronto | 351 | Highway 427 Photo |
| Toronto | 352 | Carlingview Drive (westbound only) |
| Toronto | 354 | Dixon Road/Martin Grove Road |
| Toronto | 355 | Highway 409 (westbound only) |
| Toronto | 356 | Islington Avenue |
| Toronto | 357 | Weston Road |
| Toronto | 359 | Highway 400/Black Creek Drive |
| Toronto | 362 | Keele Street |
| Toronto | 364 | Dufferin Street |
| Toronto | 365 | William R. Allen Road |
| Toronto | 366 | Bathurst Street (westbound only) |
| Toronto | 367 | Avenue Road |
| Toronto | 369 | Yonge Street |
| Toronto | 371 | Bayview Avenue |
| Toronto | 373 | Leslie Street |
| Toronto | 375 | Highway 404/Don Valley Parkway |
| Toronto | 376 | Victoria Park Avenue |
| Toronto | 378 | Warden Avenue |
| Toronto | 379 | Kennedy Road |
| Toronto | 380 | Brimley Road eastbound exit only to Brimley South; also access to Progess Avenue and Scarborough Town Centre ;westbound access from Brimley Northbound |
| Toronto | 381 | McCowan Road |
| Toronto | 383 | Markham Road (Highway 48) |
| Toronto | 385 | Neilson Road |
| Toronto | 387 | Morningside Avenue |
| Toronto | 389 | Meadowvale Road |
| Toronto | 390 | Kingston Road/Port Union Road (eastbound only) |
| Toronto | 392 | Kingston Road/Sheppard Avenue (westbound only) |
| Pickering | 394 | Whites Road (Durham Road 38) |
| Pickering | 397 | Liverpool Road (Durham Road 29) (westbound only) |
| Pickering | 399 | Brock Road (Durham Road 1) |
| Ajax | 401 | Westney Road (Durham Road 31) |
| Ajax | 404 | Salem Road (Durham Road 41) |
| Whitby | 410 | Brock Street (Durham Highway 12/Durham Road 46) |
| Whitby | 412 | Thickson Road (Durham Road 26) |
| Oshawa | 416 | Park Road (Durham Road 54) (closed when exit 415 opens in 2009 or 2010) |
| Oshawa | 417 | Simcoe Street (Durham Road 2) (eastbound only) |
| Oshawa | 418 | Ritson Road (Durham Road 16)/Simcoe Street (Durham Road 2) (westbound only) |
| Oshawa | 419 | Harmony Road (Durham Road 33)/Bloor Street (Durham Road 22) |
| Clarington | 425 | Courtice Road (Durham Road 34) |
| Clarington | 428 | Holt Road (eastbound only) |
| Clarington | 431 | Waverly Road (Durham Road 57) |
| Clarington | 432 | Liberty Street (Durham Road 14) |
| Clarington | 435 | Bennett Road |
| Clarington | 436 | Highway 35/Highway 115 |
| Clarington | 440 | Mill Street (Durham Road 17) |
| Clarington | 448 | Newtonville Road (Durham Road 18) |
| Port Hope | 456 | Wesleyville Road |
| Port Hope | 461 | Northumberland County Road 2 |
| Port Hope | 464 | Northumberland County Road 28 |
| Cobourg - Hamilton (Township) Boundary | 472 | Burnham Street (Northumberland County Road 18) |
| Cobourg - Hamilton (Township) Boundary | 474 | Northumberland County Road 45 |
| Alnwick/Haldimand | 487 | Lyle Street (Northumberland County Road 23) to Grafton |
| Cramahe | 497 | Percy Street/Big Apple Road (Northumberland County Road 25) |
| Brighton | 509 | Northumberland County Road 30 |
| Quinte West | 522 | Wooler Road (Hastings Road 40) |
| Quinte West | 525 | Hastings Road 33 |
| Quinte West | 526 | Glen Miller Road (Hastings Road 4) |
| Quinte West | 538 | Wallbridge-Loyalist Road (Hastings Road 1) |
| Belleville | 543 | North Front Street (Highway 62) |
| Belleville | 544 | Highway 37 |
| Tyendinaga | 556 | Shannonville Road |
| Tyendinaga | 566 | Highway 49/Marysville Road (Lennox and Addington County Road 15) |
| Tyendinaga - Greater Napanee Boundary | 570 | Deseronto Road (Lennox and Addington County Road 10) |
| Greater Napanee | 579 | Lennox and Addington County Road 41 |
| Greater Napanee | 582 | Lennox and Addington County Road 1 |
| Loyalist | 593 | Camden East Road (Lennox and Addington County Road 4) |
| Loyalist | 599 | Wilton Road (Lennox and Addington County Road 6) |
| Kingston | 611 | Frontenac Road 38 |
| Kingston | 613 | Sydenham Road (Frontenac Road 9) |
| Kingston | 615 | Sir John A. MacDonald Boulevard |
| Kingston | 617 | Division Street (Frontenac Road 10) |
| Kingston | 619 | Montreal Street (Frontenac Road 11) |
| Kingston | 623 | Highway 15/Frontenac Road 15 |
| Kingston | 632 | Joyceville Road (Frontenac Road 16) |
| Leeds and the Thousand Islands - Gananoque Boundary | 645 | Leeds and Grenville County Road 32 |
| Leeds and the Thousand Islands - Gananoque Boundary | 647 | Thousand Islands Parkway/Leeds and Grenville County Road 2 (eastbound only) |
| Leeds and the Thousand Islands | 648 | Leeds and Grenville County Road 2 (WB only) |
| Leeds and the Thousand Islands | 659 | Reynolds Road (Leeds and Grenville County Road 3) |
| Leeds and the Thousand Islands | 661 | Highway 137 (to Interstate 81 via Thousand Islands Bridge) |
| Front of Yonge | 675 | Mallorytown Road (Leeds and Grenville County Road 5) |
| Elizabethtown-Kitley | 685 | Thousand Islands Parkway (westbound only) |
| Elizabethtown-Kitley | 687 | Leeds and Grenville County Road 2 |
| Brockville | 696 | Stewart Boulevard (Leeds and Grenville County Road 29) |
| Brockville | 698 | North Augusta Road |
| Augusta | 705 | Leeds and Grenville County Road 15 |
| Prescott | 716 | Edward Street (Leeds and Grenville County Road 18) |
| Edwardsburgh/Cardinal | 721 | Highway 416/Highway 16 |
| Edwardsburgh-Cardinal | 730 | Shanly Road (Leeds and Grenville County Road 22) |
| South Dundas | 738 | Carman Road (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 1) |
| South Dundas | 750 | Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 31 |
| South Dundas | 758 | Upper Canada Road |
| South Stormont | 770 | Dickinson Drive (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 14) |
| South Stormont | 778 | Moulinette Road (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 35) |
| South Stormont | 786 | Power Dam Drive (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 33) (EB only) |
| Cornwall | 789 | Brookdale Avenue (Highway 138) |
| Cornwall | 792 | McConnell Avenue (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 42) |
| Cornwall - South Glengarry Boundary | 796 | Boundary Road (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 44) |
| South Glengarry | 804 | Summerstown Road (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 27) |
| South Glengarry | 814 | Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 34 |
| South Glengarry | 825 | Fourth Line Road (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Road 23) |
| Continues as Autoroute 20 in Quebec | ||
- *Exit number not signed, based on kilometre post
- Presumably the kilometre numbers start at 11 because of plans of a possible extension to the Canada-US border, although that is not confirmed.
- References
- Cameron Bevers, The History of Ontario's Kings Highways at http://www.thekingshighway.ca/
- Scott Steeves, www.ONTHIGHWAYS.com at http://www.onthighways.com/
- Microsoft Streets and Trips 2005
Lane configuration from west to east
| Section | Travel Lanes |
|---|---|
| Huron Church Road/Highway 3 to just east of Essex County Road 42 | 2 Lanes per direction 1 additional lane per direction currently under construction |
| Essex County Road 42 to Highway 402 | 2 Lanes per Direction 1 additional lane per direction currently under planning |
| Highway 402 to Highway 403 | 3 Lanes per Direction |
| Highway 403 to Northumberland Street | 2 Lanes per Direction 1 additional lane per direction currently under construction and an "Ontario tall-wall" concrete barrier to be added |
| Northumberland Street to Hurontario Street/Highway 10 | 3 Lanes per Direction |
| Hurontario Street/Highway 10 to Highway 410/Highway 403 | 3 Lanes Eastbound, 4 Lanes Westbound in the process of being upgraded to a collector/express system for 6 lanes per direction (3 express, 3 local) |
| Under the Highway 410/Highway 403 Interchange | 6 Lanes Eastbound (3 express, 3 local), 4 Lanes Westbound (2 local, 2 express, a.k.a. the Highway 401-403-410 Bottleneck) in the process of being upgraded to accommodate 6 or more lanes per direction (3 express, 3 local) |
| Highway 410/Highway 403 to Basketweave south of Toronto Pearson International Airport | 9 Lanes per Direction (4 local, 5 express eastbound, 5 local, 4 express westbound) |
| Basketweave south of Toronto Pearson International Airport to Highway 427 | 9 Lanes per Direction (5 local, 4 express eastbound, 4 local, 5 express westbound) |
| Under the Highway 401/Highway 427 Interchange | 4 Lanes per Direction (a.k.a. the Highway 401-427 Bottleneck) |
| Highway 427 to Highway 409 | 5 Lanes per Direction |
| Highway 409 to Highway 400 | 7 Lanes per Direction (4 express, 3 local) |
| Highway 400 to The Basketweave | 8 Lanes per Direction (4 express, 4 local) |
| The Basketweave to William R. Allen Road | 7 Lanes per Direction (4 express, 3 local) |
| Allen Road to Yonge Street | 7 Lanes per Direction (3 express, 4 local) |
| Yonge Street to Leslie Street | 6 Lanes per Direction (3 express, 3 local) |
| Leslie Street to Highway 404/Don Valley Parkway | 7 Lanes per Direction (4 express, 3 local) |
| Highway 404/Don Valley Parkway to Kennedy Road | 8 Lanes per Direction (4 express, 4 local) |
| Kennedy Road to Markham Road/Highway 48 | 7 Lanes per Direction (3 express, 4 local) |
| Markham Road/Highway 48 to Neilson Road | 6 Lanes per Direction (3 express, 3 local) |
| Neilson Road to Whites Road | 7 Lanes per Direction (4 express, 3 local) |
| Whites Road to Brock Road | 7 Lanes per Direction (3 express, 4 local) |
| Brock Road to Salem Road | 5 Lanes per Direction |
| Salem Road to Thickson Road | 4 Lanes per Direction |
| Thickson Road to Port Hope | 3 Lanes per Direction |
| Port Hope to Quebec Border | 2 Lanes per Direction 1 additional lane per direction currently under planning |