Bradford Bypass

The Bradford Bypass is a proposed freeway that would travel near Bradford, in the Canadian province of Ontario. The route would serve as a connector between Highway 400 and Highway 404 on the northern edge of the Greater Toronto Area, in York Region and Simcoe County.^[2] The planned western terminus would be Highway 400 near Bradford. The planned eastern terminus would be Highway 404 near Queensville.

Route description

The proposed route of the Bradford Bypass would have it start at a stacked interchange with Highway 400 midway between 8th Line and 9th Line of Bradford West Gwillimbury. From there the four lane rural freeway would proceed east, crossing the 10th Sideroad and interchanging with Yonge Street (former Highway 11) immediately north of the town of Bradford. It would then curve southeast to cross the West Holland River into the municipality of East Gwillimbury in the Regional Municipality of York, after which it would interchange with Bathurst Street and straighten out towards the east. The freeway would cross the East Holland River and pass immediately south of the Silver Lakes Golf and Country Club. It would cross the original Yonge Street then cut through farmland, parallel with Queensville Sideroad. At Leslie Street, immediately north of the community of Queensville, a partial interchange would provide westward access onto the Bradford Bypass. It would end shortly thereafter at Highway 404.^[3]

History

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation conducted an environmental assessment of the project, which considered the highway to be needed for forecast traffic needs of 2025. York Region included the highway in its official plans. Construction was expected to begin by the end of the 2000s, but this changed with the change in provincial government from Ernie Eves to Dalton McGuinty. The McGuinty government developed the "Smart Growth" plan for the Golden Horseshoe Region and did not include the Bradford Bypass in its plans for future highways. Although the highway remains in local official plans, as of 2011 there are no provincial plans to build it.^[4]

Proposed exit list

The following table lists the proposed locations for interchanges along the Bradford Bypass contained within the MTO review.^[3]

References

External links

• "Bradford Bypass plan shelved, but not eliminated" - York Region
• "Envrionmentalists glad to see province drop plans for Bradford Bypass" - York Region
• "Bradford bypass not in plans" - York Region
• "Good riddance to bypass, environmentalists say" - Simcoe
• "Province pushes secret deal for Simcoe" - Toronto Star