The 401
- This article is about the Ontario 400-series highway. For the U.S. highway, see U.S. Highway 401.
The Macdonald-Cartier Freeway, more commonly known as Highway 401, 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.
Highway 401 begins at Highway 3 in Windsor, Ontario (not at the Michigan border, contrary to popular belief), and ends at the Quebec border in Eastern Ontario, 815 kilometres from its start point in Windsor. There are 18 service station oases located along the route, allowing motorists to access services without leaving the highway. A plaque at the Ivy Lea oasis, where the freeway was completed, claims that the 401 is the longest non-toll freeway under a single highway authority in North America.
Construction began in 1939, but was stopped almost immediately owing to the outbreak of World War II. The first section of the highway, between Toronto and Oshawa, was opened in 1947 and designated Highway 2A. It was officially designated 401 in 1952. 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 an express/local set-up similar to the new 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 18 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/local system as far west as Guelph.
Major freeway junctions are located at Highway 402, Wellington Road and Highbury Avenue in London, Highway 403, Highway 8, Highway 6, Highway 407, Highway 410, Highway 427, Highway 27, Highway 400, Allen Road and the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto, Highway 404 and Highway 416.
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 500,000 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 the busiest truck route in North America. The 401 also includes the continent's busiest multi-structure bridge at Hogg's Hollow in Toronto (4 structures for the highway's 4 roadway beds).
To manage traffic, the 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 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 2nd 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 also makes them the most likely terrorist targets in Canada. Effective crippling of this infrastructure would 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, and Cornwall.
See also
