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Missing image Highway-401.png Highway 401 as part of the 400-series network Missing image Carlb-hwy401-lastkm-682.jpg Highway 401 was completed in 1965 Highway 401, also known officially as the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, is a freeway that runs across southern Ontario, Canada. It is the longest 400-Series Highway in Ontario, and one of the busiest highways in the world.
OverviewHighway 401 begins at Highway 3 in Windsor, Ontario (not at the Michigan border), and ends at the Quebec border in Eastern Ontario, 815 kilometres 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.) The section through Toronto 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 Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago. By 1967 the highway had been widened from four lanes to 12 or more through Toronto and Mississauga. Today the entire 401 through the Greater Toronto Area varies from 10 to 20 lanes, and the stretch between Mississauga and Brock Road in Pickering is thought to be the world's longest continuous highway having 12 or more lanes. An extensive plan is currently underway by the Ministry of Transportation to widen the highway to at least six lanes for its entire length and to extend the 12-lane express/collector system as far west as Guelph. Missing image Carlb-McFreeway401-Mallorytown.jpg A Highway 401 marker shield displaying the M-C Freeway designation. These shields are becoming harder to find as the province has decided to stop implementing them along the highway. In 1965 Premier John Robarts named the highway the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, in honour of Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier, two of the most important Fathers of Canadian Confederation. Today it is considered North America's busiest highway, with an estimated Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) over 425,000 in 2004, near the interchange with Highway 400. Due to its triple use as the main trade, commuting and recreational corridor in Ontario, many days spike well beyond the 500,000 level. The just-in-time inventory systems of the highly integrated auto industry in Michigan and Ontario have made the highway into 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). Missing image Carlb-hwy401-scarberia.jpg Highway 401 westbound, in Scarborough 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 get a real-time assessment of traffic conditions and alert highway travellers of collisions and construction. The 401 is one of the most important highways in Canada, as it connects the majority of populous southern Ontario with Quebec and Michigan, plus most other major highways in Ontario. The highway also serves as the principal connection to Montreal and points east, 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 extend the last few kilometres into Detroit, it is the only route from Toronto to Windsor. Some 40% of Canada-US trade travels the highway, which is 1/3 of Canada's foreign trade, and 4% of the all US foreign trade. The 401 and the nearby QEW (Canada's second biggest trade corridor) carry so much US trade that the highways and their US gateways in Niagara and Detroit are considered the most important strategic infrastructure in Canada by the US intelligence community. This status may make them the most likely terrorist targets in Canada. Effective crippling of this infrastructure could single-handedly implode the Canadian economy and likely push the US economy into recession. Cities along the route of the highway include Windsor, Chatham, London, Woodstock, Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph, Mississauga, Toronto, Oshawa, Cobourg, Belleville, Kingston, Brockville, and Cornwall. MunicipalitiesMunicipalities in which the 401 travels through from west to east are:
continuing onto Autoroute 20 in Rivière-Beaudette, Quebec Interchanges from West to East
See alsoExternal links
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